


Dreams

by AgentOfShip



Series: Dreams verse [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dreams, Dubious Science, F/M, Jemma Simmons Has No Chill, Meeting in dreams, Multiverse Theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:41:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOfShip/pseuds/AgentOfShip
Summary: Fitz has been dealing with quite a serious problem since the explosion that happened a year ago. He thinks Jemma Simmons -the new biochemist Coulson has hired whom he might have a big crush on- could help him solve it. If only he could find a way to talk to her. The solution might be just as peculiar as his problem.A big thank you to @Libbyweasley for the beta work <3
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: Dreams verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693648
Comments: 161
Kudos: 153





	1. Chapter 1

Fitz thought he might be falling in love with the new biochemist.

He didn't like the new people Coulson had hired in the lab in the past year. Most of them were doing their job correctly, he supposed, but they were just so boring and unimaginative. They just did what they were told and never came up with a single original idea. Jemma, Doctor Doctor Jemma Simmons to be precise, was something else entirely. He'd watched her create a new antiserum on her first day all while keeping her typical British composure. And every day since that, she'd proven time and again how incredibly brilliant she was. She acted like she liked playing by the rules –and she probably did a bit– but she didn't hesitate to bend them for the opportunity to explore new areas of science. Also, she had taken on Fitz's sensible lab rules easily and had implemented new ones that made it an even safer workplace, which Fitz could only approve of. 

"Doctor Simmons, can you remind me where to get the biological sample bags?" Nathanson rudely interrupted Fitz in his musings. 

She looked up from her screen with a smile Fitz knew to be fake. 

"Of course, Doctor Nathanson. It's up there in the blue case," she said, nodding towards the shelves on the other side of the lab. "Remember, B is for blue–"

"Thank you, Doctor Simmons," he cut her off before walking away.

"Is for biological," Fitz and Jemma finished in unison. 

"What a rude idiot," Fitz grumbled and Jemma sighed as she rolled her eyes. Her pretty, sparkling, honey eyes. 

Because there was that too. On top of being brilliant, sweet, funny and sharing his opinion on Nathanson, she was absolutely gorgeous. With her soft eyes, her freckles and her lovely, generous smile, she looked like summer personified and such a stark contrast to the greyness that surrounded him. If only he could talk to her, he was pretty sure they'd get along great, become friends or maybe even more, who knew?

And he could tell she was almost as lonely as he was. Oh, she was more social than he ever was and quite friendly too. She'd spent a few tea breaks and lunches with Bobbi and Daisy but she was still spending most of her evenings alone in her room or working in the lab. When she was stuck on something, she never stopped until she found a solution. He could relate to that. A few times, he had found her asleep on her desk with her head on her arms. She was relentless. If he found a way to ask her, Fitz was pretty sure she could even help him with his little problem. 

"Simmons? Coulson asked for you in the briefing room. Exciting new disgusting stuff for you to analyze, I bet," Daisy said, taking just one step into the lab before walking away. 

Jemma chuckled.

"Coming right away," she cried out after Daisy even though she was probably already out of hearing distance. Fitz had come to miss even these long briefings and he was a little jealous of how Jemma had become Coulson's go-to person for anything weird or alien. He knew they didn't have the same specialties and he wasn't really available himself anyway, but still. 

Saving what she was working on, Jemma stood up and smoothed down her shirt in that cute way she always did even though it was never necessary. Finally, pocketing her phone and taking her tablet, she walked towards the door. 

And right through him. 

Fitz's whole body shook. It might have been a year and he might not technically feel anything but he still couldn't get used to it. Sometimes, he wondered if this was some sort of sick cosmic joke that, after spending most of his life seeing women walk through him, they now _literally_ walked through him. 

Yes, Fitz would have loved nothing more than introduce himself to Doctor Simmons. Only problem was, she couldn't see or hear him. At least, for once, he had a good excuse for not talking to a woman he was interested in.

* * *

Fortunately, after that too long briefing with Coulson, Jemma came back to the lab with what he had to admit looked like some disgusting goo to analyze. Since they hadn't technically been introduced, he supposed he should call her Doctor Simmons –it seemed very important to her and he wouldn't want to disrespect her– but no one could hear him so it didn't matter for now. Plus, she might not know him at all but he felt like he knew her better than anyone on the base. That was what happened when a freak accident turned you into a non-corporeal being and you had nothing better to do than follow people around to pass the time.

When Jemma had arrived at the Playground three months ago, it hadn't taken long for Fitz to decide that she was the most interesting person around. Reading her file over Coulson's shoulder had sent a zing of excitement through him. She'd gotten her second PhD before she was seventeen and his only disappointment was that she'd chosen to get another one and started the Academy two years after him. So he was doing his best to get to know her now. He stayed with her most of the day watching her work and making suggestions even though she couldn't hear him. And for the past few weeks, he'd taken on the habit of following her to her room at night. Nothing inappropriate of course. It was just that no one watched decent TV on the base and Jemma has started reading the latest Terry Pratchett book he hadn't had the time to read before his disappearance. 

When the accident with the particle accelerator had happened a year ago, everyone thought him to be dead even though they never found a body to bury. But he couldn't really blame them. That was what he had thought as well until he remembered that he didn't believe in ghosts and decided to look for a better explanation. Which wasn't easy considering he couldn't touch anything. Not in this dimension at least. Because that was what he thought. Just like that guy Tobias, Fitz was pretty sure he'd been sent to another dimension. He could still see and hear everything that happened in his original plane of existence but all sort of...faded. But he couldn't touch, smell or taste anything at all. Which he supposed was the effect of being in a dimension that was only slightly shifted from theirs. 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Fitz watched Jemma work a little longer but, although he loved her enthusiasm for anything new and weird, he didn't share her interest for gooey and gross things. So, after an hour or so, he decided to follow Nathanson around for a while to tell him everything he did wrong. It was freeing to be as grumpy as he liked when no one was watching. Then it was time to follow Skye...uh Daisy –some changes were harder to get used to– to training. Fitz had spent months being bored out of his mind, watching whatever crappy TV people watched, reading books only other people read until he'd realized that combat training was one of the things he could do on his own with the added benefit that it never hurt when he fell. Which meant it most likely didn't do anything for his muscle definition either, but at least he was learning techniques and getting quite good at some of them. Plus, a few times, when May was doing Tai Chi instead of combat training, Fitz thought she'd heard him. Unfortunately, the simple fact of hearing a voice that reminded her of him seemed to pull her out of her concentration. Fitz had been a little disappointed but mostly touched beyond words when she'd talked about it to Coulson and they both came to the conclusion that she simply missed him, just like they all did.

Fitz had spent that evening with Bobbi watching some awfully sad movie and crying his eyes out with her. Not quite as much about the protagonist losing the love of her life but from frustration and how much he missed his friends, his mum and his whole bloody life. He just wished he could have felt the exhaustion that usually came from crying. 

But it never came. In fact, he hadn't been tired or hungry or thirsty for over a year now. Which, of course, didn't ease his worries about possibly being a ghost. His theory was that time passed much slower where he was. But with the two dimensions being so close, he still witnessed time happening normally while experiencing it slowly. Which was good because that bloody parallel dimension didn't have anything to eat or drink.

So, ironically, the best way to prove his theory would be if he finally started to get thirsty. Which would mean he wasn't a ghost but also, his death in a barren dimension while seeing but never being able to get what he wanted was imminent. Maybe Tobias had been right after all and this was his own personal hell.

* * *

Finally, it was time to follow Jemma to her room. Fitz waited with his eyes closed until he heard her climb into bed, then quickly came to sit next to her so he wouldn't miss a single word from the book. It felt awfully intimate to be this close but there really was no other way if he wanted to read. And if he ever got out of that ghost state, he'd find a way to apologize. Maybe buy her all the books he thought she'd like or...who knew, maybe he'd find the courage to ask her out on a date. If she wasn't creeped out that he knew so much about her already.

Unfortunately, she didn't read much that night. After six or seven pages, she started to doze off. Poor thing. She was exhausted with all the responsibilities Coulson was putting on her shoulders. She hadn't taken more than a few days of rest since she'd arrived. And she was always grimacing while rubbing her neck or shoulders. He wished he could suggest that she do Tai Chi with May. Fitz was skeptical at first, but it was rather relaxing and it might help her too. 

Anyway, she still persisted for a while longer –she wanted to finish her chapter– and ended up falling asleep with her book still in her hands and the lights on. Fitz wished he could put it away so it wasn't damaged and make her lie down more comfortably so her neck wouldn't hurt even more but that obviously wasn't possible.

"Good night," he said softly and stood up to leave the room. 

But just as he was about to walk through the door, he heard strange sounds, like children laughing, birds singing and all the sounds of nature that went with it. Jemma was still sound asleep so he looked around. Maybe it was coming from her phone or laptop, a video that had launched itself for some reason. But her laptop was closed and her phone was on her bedside table, the screen not displaying anything. And as he got closer, Fitz realized that it was coming from her. 

Which made no sense at all. Even if she was sleep talking, he could believe the childish laughter came from her but certainly not the birds and the wind. That was way too realistic. Plus, her lips were not moving. They were just pulled up into a slight smile and her eyes seemed to twitch a bit under her eyelids, kind of like she was...

Dreaming? 

No. Could that be it? It had been a year, surely he would have noticed before if he could hear people's dreams.

May had heard him though. When she was completely relaxed and focused on her Tai Chi. Maybe, somehow, it _opened up_ her brain to a wider range of frequencies that allowed him to be heard by her. And he didn't know much about the different types of brainwaves but he knew that in sleep or at a high state of relaxation, it was different from a normal activity. Delta or theta if he remembered correctly. So maybe that could be his way of communicating after all. 

This all sounded like science-fiction or dubious science at best but then again, he still couldn't be a hundred percent certain that he wasn't a ghost so...

He lay down next to her again, as close as he could, closed his eyes and kept his fingers crossed. The noises became gradually louder and Fitz suddenly felt the caress of the breeze on his face. It was so nice after feeling nothing at all for a year that he felt tears pool in his eyes instantly. But then, all the smells came rushing in at once. The fresh grass, the flowers, the trees and so many he couldn't quite distinguish but that filled his mind with memories of his childhood. It was all so overwhelming Fitz started to feel dizzy. Had he fallen into his own dream? No, that couldn't be. He hadn't slept in a year, hadn't even experienced tiredness at all.

"Who are you?" 

The little voice pulled Fitz right back to the moment. He opened his eyes to find a little girl's face looking down at him. The freckles, the big honey eyes and that frown on her forehead made Fitz's lips pull up into a smile. Her face was much younger and rounder but there was no mistaking Jemma Simmons. 

Fitz sat up and looked around him. The hills, the blue sky dotted with dark clouds over the horizon and the lonely, little cottage at the end of the field. That was definitely Scotland. He looked back at her and couldn't help grinning at the impatience written on her face. He was invading her lovely dream after all, she had every right to expect answers. 

"I'm Fitz and you're Jemma, right?" 

She nodded as her frown deepened. 

"How do you know my name?" 

"Ah uh... I-I uh... I know your parents. Is this Perthshire?"

"Yes but you're weird, I shouldn't be speaking to you," she said and that made Fitz smile even more. She was fiercely smart even then. But that was to be expected, someone who had two PhDs by sixteen had to be way above average even at... what? Nine? Ten years old? She might already be in grammar school at this age. 

"Sorry," he said, sitting up. The cold, slightly wet grass felt absolutely incredible under his bum and hands. And the smells were so strong close to the ground that he wished he could bottle them and keep them with him. "I've been kind of lost for a while and I really need help." 

She looked him up and down several more times then shrugged as she seemed to decide he wasn't so dangerous after all. She took her little backpack off her shoulders and there, from under her notebooks and little plastic bags filled with plants and disgusting stuff, she took out a little metal box and opened it. Fitz's mouth watered instantly –for the first time in over a year– as his eyes widened. Shortbreads. All golden and round, the strong smell of sugar and butter almost too much for his mind to bear. 

"Do you want one? You'll probably feel better after you've eaten something," she said. God, she was just the sweetest, most caring person, even in her dreams. 

But before he could reach the box and get a shortbread, a woman walked out of the cottage. 

"Jemma, time for dinner!" the woman –her mother, he supposed– cried out and Jemma's eyes widened. 

"Sorry, I have to go. Can't be late for dinner!" she said before quickly putting everything back into her backpack. By the time Fitz was up, Jemma was already halfway to the house, her brown hair bouncing up and down freely as she ran. 

Having nothing better to do and since it was a dream anyway, Fitz followed her into the cottage. But when he opened the white wooden door she'd gone through, he found himself back in the lab. In the corner, an adult Jemma was arranging beakers that kept accumulating on never-ending shelves on the wall.

Poor Jemma. Even her dreams couldn't remain nice and relaxing for long. 

The rest of the lab was as it usually was and Fitz felt a thrill of excitement course through him. Plenty of computers he could use and the best potential lab partner to help him work his problem. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to forget the beakers and help him prove the multiverse theory and bring him back to their dimension.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, that was awfully rude," Jemma thought, eyeing the strange man working on the other side of the lab. She wasn't the only one using the beakers after all. Plus, he could at least introduce himself. She knew there were new people all the time but still...

Sighing, she turned around and walked to him, trying to ignore the beakers dangerously piling up on the shelves. Why did they need so many to begin with?

She cleared her throat loudly.

"Who are you?" she asked and he turned around, flashing her a delighted smile.

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. 

"Can you see me?" he asked and she frowned, looking around the surprisingly empty lab. Who did he think she was talking to? She was looking right at him.

"Of course, I can."

"Great! Well I need your help with this Dr Simmons! I've been stuck on it for a while."

"What is it?"

Her scientific curiosity won over her annoyance at his lack of manners. That was an intriguing simulation running on his computer. 

"Trying to see if an explosion near a particle accelerator can open up a passage between dimensions and send someone through, rendering them non-corporeal. And, obviously, find a way to bring them back."

"Do you know someone who's trapped in another dimension?"

"I am," he said, shrugging his shoulder like it was obvious.

She frowned and poked his chest with her index. 

"You seem very corporeal to me." And very nicely so.

"That's because you're dreaming. That's why you can see me. I'm guessing it has to do with your brain waves during sleep allowing you to see me. But that's one more thing we'll have to verify."

"Oh. Of course," she let out with a deep sigh.

That made much more sense. Very out-of-this-world, interesting science and a ridiculously attractive scientist. It just couldn't be real. She would have noticed someone like _him_ working on something like _that_ much sooner if they were really in the lab. 

After all, the never ending accumulation of beakers had been a recurring dream since she'd started biochemistry so she should have known. But if her subconscious had decided to conjure up something so much nicer, she wondered why it hadn't also decided to go with the classic showing up to work naked and give it a nicer ending than usual. That was why she'd conjured _him_ , right? With his blue eyes, blue shirt and those terribly attractive hands.

Her fantasies weren't usually this elaborate –and quantum physics wasn't exactly her forte– but sexy science and sexy scientist, who was she to say no to that? 

"So...hum. Do you think you can help me?" The man insisted. 

"Sure! Show me what you've got, Mister..."

"Fitz. Doctor Fitz, actually," he said, his face relaxing as he extended his hand. She shook it. It was nice and firm and as she moved closer, she got a better look at his big, bright blue eyes and lovely pink lips. She smiled. The mind was really something quite extraordinary. And she was rather proud of hers at the moment.

"Nice to meet you," she said, deciding that it wasn't necessary to introduce herself since her brain had decided he knew her already.

"So, it all happened when Coulson sent me to investigate suspicious activities around a particle accelerator. Considering what had happened the last time, I should have been more careful and maybe bring someone along. But we'd just settled at the Playground and we didn't have many agents to spare then."

"And it all just exploded?" Jemma asked. She did remember reading something in the news related to a particle accelerator a while ago but not that it had been destroyed.

"Not exactly. It was an explosion just outside the compound. Where I was supposed to be."

"Oh."

That was a rather tragic backstory to give to a simple fantasy but okay. That was probably what gave that incredible depth to his blue eyes and interesting men were the sexiest.

"I don't blame them for thinking I was dead. So many people died and all over a fanatic who thought it could create a black hole and destroy Earth. And if I had been close to the detonation, there wouldn't have been much of a body to recover. But as it turned out, I had managed to sneak into the compound and get close to the particle accelerator. The explosion created a sort of earthquake. It felt like being caught in a tidal wave. I fell and then nothing. When I woke up, I thought I must have passed out or hit my head. But I got out and Skye –that's Daisy's old name– was crying in Coulson's arms and May walked right through me." 

"Wow... I'm so sorry. That must have been very confusing."

He chuckled humorlessly. He might not be real but the emotions he was giving her were and there was a knot forming in her throat at the thought of what had happened to him. It must have been so lonely.

"Understatement of the century. Now. If you could help me prove I'm not a ghost..."

"And how can I do that?"

"I entered all the data I could gather into the simulation. I'll need help interpreting the results."

Jemma took a step closer to the computer. She knew the brain had a way of making you think things made sense when in dreams but that really looked like proper science. Fascinating, possibly ground-breaking science.

"That's a lot of details, Fitz. It looks very real."

"Yeah, that's the whole point. Recreating what happened to prove my theory," he grumbled.

Jemma chuckled, wondering why she'd made her fantasy man a little grumpy. Maybe because it emphasised the accent. She'd been rather homesick lately and the Scottish burr was a nice touch. 

As they waited for the results, Doctor Fitz explained all the data he put into the simulation. About the particle accelerator itself –it seemed like it was the one in Michigan– but also about the distance from the explosion, the type and quantity of explosive, the seismic-like activity registered that day. It was all very detailed and he was really, really smart. It had been a while since she'd had such an interesting conversation. Bobbi was brilliant in her own way and the other scientists in the lab were...competent. Most of the time. But she hadn't felt the thrill of a highly stimulating conversation with a like-minded scientist for a while. Which probably explained why she was making one up herself. 

The distinctive sound of a simulation that had finished running successfully made them both turn towards the computer screen. 

Fitz looked equally excited and anxious as he wiped his hands on the fabric of his jeans. 

"Alright," he said with a tight smile. "Let's run the simulation, yeah? Hopefully, we should see an anomaly. Some strange light, a concentrated surge of energy, anything that could mean an opening between dimensions."

"Okay," she said, taking a seat to face the screen better. 

He was vibrating with nervous energy so Jemma put a hand on his shoulder in what she meant to be a soothing gesture but that only made him jump back.

"Sorry," she said but couldn't avoid the slight grin on her face. There was something kind of funny and touching in his jumpiness. And it was all very exciting. Like being in an episode of Doctor Who. She just hoped she'd get to see, and live, the end of that episode.

He pressed start and Jemma focused on the screen. He really must have entered even more precise informations than she thought in the simulation. It looked almost real. First there was the explosion outside, then the shockwave hit the particle accelerator. There was nothing more for long seconds and she could see Fitz's shoulder slump in the corner of her field of vision.

But then it happened. An anomaly on the north side of the accelerator. 

"There," Jemma pointed at the screen but he'd seen it already. 

As he zoomed in to get more information, the virtual sensors indicated that the air had gotten ten times denser in that specific spot, and getting denser with every passing second. And then it expanded, molecules that shouldn't be there were detected. And then nothing. Everything went back to normal. 

There was a tense silence for what felt like a really long time and then he let out a loud sigh.

"That's it," he whispered like he was afraid it would all disappear if he said it louder. "The air was denser because–"

"There were several dimensions at the same place at the same time."

"Exactly."

"So if someone happened to be there at this exact moment and place, then theoretically–"

"They could have been transported to another dimension. Yes!"

A huge grin pulled at his lips as he turned to look at her and something fluttered in her belly. 

"Oh my god, Jemma! You have no idea...this is-this is... it's been a year and– Come here!" he finally said then pulled her into a hug before she could say anything. 

He wasn't big but his arms were still wonderfully solid as he held her incredibly tightly. She could feel relief and happiness radiate out of him. And he was smiling so wide she could even feel it against her shoulder. With another happy groan, he lifted her up and she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. His enthusiasm was contagious and it was all so exhilarating. She hadn't done a lot except interpret the results but the prospect of more revolutionary science with the sexiest, cutest and probably smartest scientist she'd ever met, was the best feeling in the world.

When he pulled back, he kept his hands on her arms and still had that huge smile on his face. But there was also an adoring expression in his eyes and the butterflies in her belly took flight.

"I knew I could count on you, Jemma! I knew you were brilliant the moment you walked into the lab and–"

Her lips were on his before he could finish his sentence. He gasped at the contact but didn't kiss her back. So after a few seconds, Jemma pulled back, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment. Even in her dreams, she couldn't read men correctly.

"I'm sorry, I thought you–"

He crashed his lips back to hers, his arms snaking around her back to pull her impossibly close once more. His kisses grew hot and urgent very quickly. Jemma moaned as he licked the seam of her lips and she gladly gave him entrance. His fingers brushed the bit of naked skin where her blouse had ridden up and she felt a zing of lust course through her. He was kissing her like he was famished. Like he was afraid he'd never be allowed to kiss anyone else ever again. It was strange and hot and different from anything she'd ever known. Her hands moved up into his hair, greatly enjoying the soft, springy quality of it. He trembled and whimpered as he backed her against the lab bench, kissing her with renewed intensity. His body pressed into her and she felt like something caught fire inside her. This could get addictive very quickly.

She slid her hands down and hooked them on the collar of his cardigan. It was really soft and fluffy but it needed to go. She started pulling it down his shoulders but that was when Fitz pulled back from the kiss. 

Jemma whimpered as she forced her eyes open. With his hair all tousled and pink, swollen lips, he looked thoroughly kissed and very kissable.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have. I-I lost control," he mumbled as he took a few steps back, taking deep breaths to try and calm his heart –she could see the vein on his neck pulse rapidly.

"What are you doing?" she whined. 

"There's work to do. We have to stay focused."

"Didn't we do enough? I mean the science was really exciting but, obviously, mostly very effective foreplay. Why would my brain conjure up someone like you if it wasn't ultimately a sex dream?"

His head shot up, his eyes widening comically. 

"Wha'? Me?" he blurted out, looking down at himself as if to check he hadn't switched bodies with someone else. "You think I'm a fantasy?" 

Not knowing what to say but ‘duh’, she just nodded enthusiastically.

As if the whole blue eyes, perfect face and nice, strong, cuddly body wasn't enough, his accent was flaring up more and more with every passing second. Even her subconscious was working against her, it seemed. Conjuring up someone so interesting and frustratingly attractive and not letting her have him. It wasn't rare for her to realize she was in a dream and still manage not to wake up but she wasn't used to having such long conversations with her fantasy lovers. Or have them play so hard to get. 

Fitz sighed as he put his hands on his hips. 

"I'm sorry," he said, his tone gentle but desperate. He took a step forward and took her hand in his. "I know it's hard to believe but I swear that I'm real and we have to get back to work before you wake up. I have been in this situation for over a year and I—"

She cut him off with another kiss. He was right, she might wake up soon and never see the literal man of her dreams ever again and that was not something–

Her alarm clock blared, loud and shrill and horrible, and the next second, she was back in her bed. Jemma tried to fight it and go back to her dream but it was useless. So she reluctantly opened her eyes and blindly reached for the lamp on her bedside table. 

Somehow, the dream didn't seem to slip away like they always did once she was awake. If anything, it was getting clearer. She could still feel Fitz's lips and hands on her and her heart was still racing. She sighed. She had to stop making up men like that in her imagination because real ones would never measure up. Doing science with him had been so exciting and had seemed so real and detailed. 

Wait.

She was fully awake now and the science still seemed sound. Mmmh. Sitting up, Jemma opened the drawer of her bedside table and took out her tablet. It was probably something she read in an article or maybe something from an old mission she read about –this was SHIELD after all, nothing was too weird– but just in case, she better write it all down because it was nothing short of revolutionary.


	3. Chapter 3

Fitz had been pacing in the lab for the past four hours. When Jemma had taken her tablet out to write everything they worked on the previous night, he'd taken it as a really good sign. He still needed to convince her he was real but she'd taken the science seriously enough to write it down. Or at least he had thought so. It would soon be lunch time and she still hadn't given any sign that she was even thinking about their meeting? Work session? Or whatever that was at all. 

Which was frustrating when _he_ had done nothing but think about it. The simulation of course, but also the deep relief of knowing not only that he wasn't dead but that someone could help him. 

And he'd been thinking about her too. A lot. The way she'd touched him, kissed him... If he still had any doubt about being in love with her, finally getting to meet her had erased all trace of it. He felt guilty for losing control the way he did --he couldn't do that when one of them didn't think it was real-- but it had been so incredibly overwhelming. He had noticed how beautiful her smile was and how nicely her jeans hugged the curves of her hips and he knew he was attracted to her but he just didn't feel the symptoms, the elevated heartbeat, the tingling in his arms, the arousal. Just like he didn't get hungry when he saw a nice muffin. 

Until he'd entered her dream and it felt more real than anything he had lived in over a year. The simple touch of her hand had made his whole body tingle and he knew it was a mistake to hug her because letting go had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. Feeling her warm and breathing against his chest had already been incredible. But then she'd kissed him and he’d lost all restraint. 

And she thought he was a fantasy? Him? He wasn't the kind of man who was anyone's fantasy. He was happy to be in any woman's thoughts at all. 

"Hey Jemma!"

Fitz startled at the same time as she did. Sometimes, it was pretty annoying to live amongst spies for whom being so bloody discreet was part of the job. 

"Hello Bobbi," Jemma replied with a smile.

"Any luck with the substance we found yesterday?"

"I'm afraid it's just useless goo. Mostly water, mold and a few other things. Nothing interesting I think, but I still need to do more tests to be sure."

"Ah...that doesn't sound like fun! Do you want to get lunch?" Bobbi asked.

"Thank you but I think I'll just grab a sandwich and use lunchtime to work on a personal project."

Bobbi came closer.

"Jemma," she said in a slightly disapproving but not unkind tone. "You're allowed to rest and take breaks once in a while, you know."

Fitz would agree wholeheartedly but he could only hope that this personal project of hers was to work on _his_ problem. 

"I know but this is...fun for me," Jemma said, scrunching up her nose adorably. 

Bobbi had a strange look for a moment, fond and sad at the same time, before putting her hands on her hips. 

"Alright but it's pizza and movie night tonight and you won't be allowed to stay in the lab!"

"Sure, that sounds nice." 

"I'll come for you if you're not in the common room by eight," Bobbi insisted. There was a smirk on her face but Fitz knew her too well to know she wasn't kidding. 

From Jemma's slightly uncomfortable expression, obviously she did too. 

"See you tonight, then. Have fun with...whatever you'll be doing," Bobbi said before leaving the room. 

A minute later, Jemma's computer bipped with the results of her analysis. Apparently, it wasn't more satisfying than those she already had because she just sighed, saved them and closed the window. Then she logged onto the SHIELD network. 

She entered his name in the search bar and Fitz winced as the first result was an article about him being the youngest student to ever graduate from the SHIELD Academy. The accompanying picture was less than flattering. His smile was terribly awkward and his tie screamed awkward nerd. Plus there had to be two inches of curls on top of his head. But that still made her smile, somehow more fondly than mockingly. 

Then she found a few more articles, mostly about things he'd worked on at Sci-Ops and he thought he saw a flash of recognition on her face. He didn't know what that meant but he hoped it was a good sign. That it would help her believe it was all real. 

And then she finally opened his personal file. She smiled at the grumpy looking picture of him but her smile faltered as she reached the bottom. 

02-12-2015: Missing in action. Presumed dead. Body could not be recovered. 

Fitz's stomach would have twisted if it could. He might know it wasn't the case now but seeing it written in black and white felt very weird. 

Jemma clicked the return button and entered the date of his presumed death into the search bar. There were a few invoices for supply orders and such but then she found the report on the particle accelerator accident. Fitz didn't need to read it as he had memorized to be ready if he ever found someone to help him. Coulson had made it easy for him. He had been reluctant to finish writing that report and had kept it unfinished and opened on his computer for weeks. Now, there was a note at the end that Coulson must have added later because Fitz had never seen it.

"We made a terrible mistake sending Agent Fitz alone. Although he'd proven himself into the field, with the threat of a terrorist attack, a specialist should have been sent to assess the risks. I take full responsibility for the presumed death of Agent Leopold Fitz, 27, in the explosion that occurred on the 12th of February, 2015."

"My god. So young," Jemma whispered with a tremor in her voice. 

He'd been so overwhelmed to read Coulson's more personal note that he hadn't noticed Jemma's expression shifting. A tear fell down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. 

"Oh no, don't cry. I'm not dead!" Fitz pleaded but another tear fell down her cheek anyway. He tried to cup her face to wipe it away but his hand just went through her. 

He groaned in frustration and went back to pacing. There was nothing he could do but hope that what she'd seen had convinced her enough for her to at least run the simulation again in the real world. He'd been impressed by her memory as she copied everything perfectly on her tablet when she had woken up. So hopefully, she would get the same results and it would pave the way for him to finally convince her of his situation. And then it would only be a matter of recreating the same conditions to reopen the passage. No big deal. 

Jemma spent more time looking him up. His career, the weapons and gadgets he'd designed, the papers he wrote and even his exam grades. He would have found it a little strange if he hadn't been following her everywhere, learning all about her for the past months. Plus, the soft smile she had on as she learned all about him made him feel all warm inside. 

Finally, she took her tablet out of her drawer and opened the notes about the simulation. 

"Yes!" he cried out. He wished more than anything that he could hug her at that moment. 

Maybe he would tonight. 

Or not. That would make him lose control again and they had work to do. 

She opened a new window and started entering all the data. But before she could finish, she was interrupted by Daisy and ended up having lunch with her after all. 

Ugh! Curse his friends for being so caring and welcoming! And curse Jemma for inspiring so much friendliness! Fitz tried to kick the desk in frustration but his foot just went through it and he lost his balance, ending up on his arse on the ground. He screamed and his voice just resonated into the nothingness of that stupid dimension. 

Taking a deep breath, Fitz tried to calm his nerves. Again, all he could do was hope Jemma would do what he wanted her to do and then he'd have to wait for her to sleep to keep working. It wasn't his friends or Jemma he was angry at but the universe and, mostly, the idiot who had made that bomb. Once he was back in the right dimension, he would be the one to make sure she never missed another meal.

* * *

It took the rest of the afternoon for Jemma to find the time to run the simulation and Fitz felt his heartbeat quicken as the progress bar advanced. _This_ would be the ultimate proof that his theory was right. A simulation on a real computer showing that an explosion and the vibrations it produced could indeed cause a particle accelerator to open up a passage between dimensions. When it was done, just like the previous night, Jemma recreated the events and there, at the exact same coordinates, she spotted the anomaly. 

Fitz let out a deep breath and Jemma fell back in her chair, her eyes wide and her lips pulling up in a small smile. He didn't know what that meant but hopefully, it was something like "That man I saw in dreams was right about all this. He's probably real and I should help him get back our dimension."

* * *

Fitz opened his eyes and let out a relieved sigh when he saw the lab around him. After pizza and movie night, Jemma had gone to sleep later than usual, looking exhausted, and he'd been afraid she might fall into a dreamless sleep. But here he was. Plus, there were no beakers in sight and the results of last night's simulation were displayed on one of the computer screens. So at least he was on her mind. 

"Hi again..." 

Fitz turned around to find Jemma looking almost shy as she stood by the lab door. Which was kind of funny since he was the one intruding on her dreams. 

"So you looked me up today. Did that make anything clearer?" he asked as he took a step closer. Was her lab coat usually this tight? It couldn't be comfortable for her and it was certainly distracting for him.

"Yes! Actually. It did." Fitz barely had the time to internally cheer before she spoke again. "I saw you before. At the Academy."

"What? No, we never met, I would–"

"No but I heard about you a lot and I saw you in the quad a few times. That's how you feel so... real. You made quite the impression on me back then. The youngest to ever graduate from the Academy with top marks. And cute and Scottish to boot."

"No, Jemma," Fitz let out with a deep sigh. "I am real. I swear I am. How could you possibly know about the explosion?" 

"I looked up a lot of SHIELD's most recent missions when Coulson became the new Director. Wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into. Must have forgotten about this one but my subconscious didn't. I have an excellent memory."

"Oh please Jemma... Think about it. That was some very specific data." 

"I told you I have an excellent memory!" Fitz sighed as he took his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Fitz. That's a very exciting theory but my explanation just makes more sense." 

Fitz looked up sharply. He could swear he heard hesitation in her voice. Was it a sign she was doubting her own words?

"But after everything that happened these past years. Alien invasions, Ancient Norse Gods coming to Earth… This wouldn't even be the most incredible discovery."

"Oh Fitz," she said, stepping closer and putting a distracting hand on his chest. "Trust me, I would like nothing more than for you to be real. And I wish I had the courage to talk to you back at the Academy when there was still time."

"What? Why wouldn't you–"

"You were in your last year and you had a reputation and I– But knowing what I know now..." She trailed off as she looked up at him, her lips grazing his jaw as she spoke. 

"Okay, maybe I'm the one dreaming after all because no woman has ever been...impressed... Jemma?"

She pressed her lips to his and Fitz forgot whatever he was about to say. Her kiss was soft and teasing and somehow even more intoxicating than the last time. He whimpered and chased her lips when she pulled back. 

"I've been feeling lonely since I started working here. So I just conjured the smartest, most attractive man I could think of to be my dream boyfriend." 

This was all very confusing, frustrating and well, incredibly flattering. That someone like Jemma, the most incredible woman he'd ever met, thought he was so dreamy he couldn't be real was something he never could have imagined. 

But if he wanted to have an actual chance to ask her out and spend real –physical– time with her, he had to convince her to keep working. He felt like, despite what she was saying, she was starting to believe him and the more they worked together, the more it would become obvious that it was all real. Hopefully.

"Can we hu... can we get back to what we were doing last night, please?" She flashed him a big cheshire cat grin. "The simulation I mean."

"Oh." Her face fell. 

"Now that we know it's possible to open a passage, we need to calculate the amount of energy that was needed for it to happen. And then we have to find a way to recreate it without a particle accelerator." 

"What? You mean here in the lab?" Fitz nodded and she shook her head. "No. That's impossible. The sheer amount of pressure, it would tear down the walls and–"

"Wow. And I thought there was no scientific challenge Jemma Simmons wouldn't accept..."

"I know what you're doing and it's not–"

"Maybe I should go invade someone else's dreams to try and solve this. Maybe Nathanson could help. He's a... competent scientist after all."

"Ugh fine!" 

Fitz grinned. He knew it wasn't fair because he'd had the time to learn exactly what buttons to push when all she knew about him was what she had read in a file. But his life was on the line. Also, after not talking to anyone for a year, these conversations with Jemma were exhilarating and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a little thrilling to know she considered it foreplay. Which had never crossed his mind. Until he met her.

"I blame Milton, you know!" 

"Who?"

She ignored his question and continued. "I should have known that saying I didn't want a man who always agreed with me would come back and bite me in the arse. I just didn't think it would happen with a dream man." 

Fitz started protesting but she'd just sat down in front of the computer and pulled out the simulation to replay it. One problem at a time. The calculations would become increasingly complicated so hopefully she would see for herself how unlikely it was that it was just her brilliant mind or excellent memory coming up with all of it.

* * *

"No, that can't be right," Fitz whispered as he fell back into his chair. 

"Of course, it is. We both came up with the same results. Twice." 

"But it's… huge." 

"Well, yes!" Jemma exclaimed as she stood up and started pacing. "One would expect the opening of a portal between dimensions to require a lot of energy."

"I know. Of course, I know. I just… I don't see how we're ever going to replicate it without blowing up a bomb next to a particle accelerator."

"Yes, with SHIELD barely existing, I don't see that happening anytime soon. Which could be potentially problematic," she said with a little chuckle.

"Potentially problematic?" Fitz repeated, his voice going all high and squeaky.

"I just mean–"

"It's not just fun maths to pass the time, it's a matter of life and death for me, Jemma!"

"Hey, don't yell at me!" she cried out as she stepped closer to him, making him jump out of his chair. "I'm trying to help, here. The conversations are exciting but if you start being mean to me, I don't see the point of this anymore. Maybe I should just try and wake up. I deserve to have a good night's sleep once in a while and—"

"No, wait," he cut her off, gently taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry, don't wake up. It's been a year and I'm getting frustrated. I know you're trying to help, I just-I just need you to-to…" She'd entwined their fingers together and pulled them against her chest and it was getting hard to focus on words. He could feel her heart beating fast and her warm, soft skin against the back of his hand. 

"What do you need me for?" she asked, her voice low and soft as she locked her eyes on him. What was he even about to say? Something… important. Life and death… His mouth opened and closed several times but no word came out and her lips pulled up slightly. "It's alright, Fitz. We just need a break, okay?" 

Fitz nodded, not even sure what she'd just said as he was too transfixed by the way her thumb was rubbing the skin between his thumb and index finger. Had this spot always been so sensitive? Or was it just because it had been so long since he'd felt anything? Before he could answer the question, she was pushing up on her tiptoes and her lips were on his. 

He melted into it, his arms finding their rightful place around her waist as their mouths slotted perfectly together. It was a long minute before he found his self-control again. 

"No, no, no, Jemma. We're getting closer. We have to keep working." 

She let out a humorless chuckle as she stepped back. 

"God, even my fantasies reject me now? Did I make you so perfect that I'm not good enough for you? What's wrong with me? I didn't used to have such low self esteem."

"Jemma, no... You have no idea how much I want you, how much I... but it's not fair as long as you still think I'm a fantasy..."

"Of course you're a fantasy," she cried out, moving closer again and trapping him against the lab bench. Fitz's throat bobbed as he suddenly felt the length of her pressed against him. Her pupils dilated at the contact but she lost none of the fire in her voice. "You're brilliant and sexy and you make my blood boil and I just—"

She was panting as her gaze kept moving from his eyes to his lips and it was getting harder and harder to remember why they shouldn't go further.

"Jemma... please... It's not fair, it's like-like I can see inside your mind."

"And I can feel what you want."

She rocked her hips against him and Fitz groaned as his cock went from hardening to fully hard in an instant. He gripped her hips in a last attempt at controlling himself but the buttons of her lab coat gave out –bloody dream world giving more strength than he ever had–, revealing only a black lacy ensemble underneath. No wonder she didn't think it was real. Even _he_ couldn't be sure anymore. She arched into him and the rapid rise and fall of her chest became impossible to ignore. 

"I don’t know what to think Fitz," she said as she reached up to cup his cheek tenderly. "I know something's not normal. My heart's telling me it's real but my brain... But it doesn't matter because I want you either way. If the real you walked into my lab tomorrow, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second."

She pushed up on her tiptoes and her breasts pressed up against his chest made him lose control once more. Sliding his fingers into her hair, he pulled her closer, kissing her hungrily. She met him kiss for kiss and moan for moan and the embers inside him burst into flames. For a year, he'd been nothing but pure spirit, not realizing how sensation-starved his body was and he couldn't think of a thing that would stop him now. 

The lace felt wonderful under his fingers as his hands closed on her arse but it was nothing compared to the skin underneath or her hands on his neck. She moaned when Fitz ground his erection against her and he pulled her tighter. But their position didn't allow for as much contact as he desperately wanted so he moved forward to back her up against the wall. But as their lips never parted and in his haste to get more of her, he tripped over his own foot and ended pushing her roughly against the other lab bench. 

"Oww!" she squeaked as the edge of it must have digged into the skin of her arse.

"I'm sorry, it's just…it's been so long. I lost control. See? I don't exactly have the moves you'd expect of a fantasy man?" he said, chuckling. "Is that really what you—"

She stopped him with a hand on his lips, her eyes even darker than before. She pushed her knickers all the way down her legs before reaching behind her back to take off her bra. 

'This is exactly what I want." 

And before he could say a single thing, she lifted herself up on the side of the lab bench and pulled him to stand between her spread legs. She sighed at the touch of his hands on the cold skin of her back and arched into him, her hands coming to rest behind her for balance. Bending over, he captured one puckered nipple between his lips and couldn't tell what was sweeter between the taste of her skin or the pleasured moan she released. 

His hand replaced his lips as he captured her mouth once more. The weight of them in his hand felt incredible and very real. A perfect soft, warm handful Fitz never wanted to let go. 

And it almost managed to distract him from the way her hips twitched against his erection or the music that had started playing. Funny, that didn't sound like the kind of music one listened to get in the mood. Actually it sounded like...

"Jemma?" he managed to let out between two hungry kisses. "Is that… the Doctor Who theme song?"

"What?" Her whole body seemed to twitch as his hands stopped moving over her. "Oh yes, that's-that's my new alarm clock ringtone. Couldn't stand the other one anymore." 

She hooked her legs tighter around his waist to pull him closer and claimed his lips again but the music started getting increasingly louder. 

"Oh no," she whimpered against his lips as she tightened her arms around him, almost crushing him against her chest. "No, no, no, no, no."

Fitz felt a strange but not completely unfamiliar sensation, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in her room. The momentary disorientation made him lose balance and fall from where he'd been sitting on the side of the bed.

He heard a muffled groan and a dull noise and turned around just in time to see Jemma let herself fall back into the pillows.

But instead of slowing down, her breathing became louder and faster and it took her letting out a small whimper to understand what she was doing. His eyes widened and he stood up to leave and give her some privacy but he felt frozen to the spot. Her body was covered from the waist down but there was no mistaking the movements under the sheets or the way her legs were spread open for anything else. This was probably the most erotic sight he'd ever seen but he didn't feel the wonderful, overwhelming arousal he'd been feeling only a minute ago. It was a good thing her alarm clock woke her up when it did because he'd gone too far already and it wouldn't have been right to go all the way with her when she still doubted his existence. But he still felt awfully frustrated and jealous of her for having the possibility of relieving that ache. But just as his feet finally decided to let him move, her body arched up and her head fell back. She bit her lip to muffle the small moans that escaped her lips and then she went limp on the bed. 

Her breathing finally evened out and Fitz thought she might be falling back asleep when she sat up again. 

"Fitz?" Jemma called out tentatively. 

"Yes! I'm here, Jemma!" Fitz replied but she didn't hear him, of course. 

"Fitz, you better be real because if you're not, I will never forgive you for it!" 

"Oh, Jemma," he let out as he came to sit on the side of the bed. He tried to cup her cheek but just went through her once more. He wanted to hug her and kiss her and tell her how much he loved her and how important it was that she was finally starting to believe him. "I swear I'm real. I just need your help to prove it." 

She sighed and almost as if she'd heard him, she reached for her tablet and opened a new document to start writing up the results of their calculations.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, this is new." 

Jemma looked up from her screen at the unfamiliar voice and English accent.

Whoever he was, he certainly didn't look like a new lab recruit with his leather jacket and low waisted jeans. But he didn't really look like the standard SHIELD Ops agent either with the stubble on his face. He was really cute though. In a rugged kind of way. 

"Hi," she said and he stopped his examination of the room to turn to her. 

"Oh hi. Sorry love, didn't think there'd still be someone in here so late. I'm Hunter," he said, extending his hand for her to shake as he took a few steps closer. 

Oh right, she'd heard about him at the last briefing but didn't think he'd be back so soon.

"I'm Jemma."

"Oh right, new head of the lab?" Hunter said and she nodded with a smile, curious to know who had talked to him about her.

"And you just came back from working undercover at Hydra, right? How was it?" 

"Oh, it was great. Lovely people those nazis," he replied and Jemma chuckled. She supposed it was a silly question. 

"Sorry, that was–"

"No, it's alright. And it wasn't all bad. Well... it was but I brought back good intel. It's good to be useful at least." 

"Yeah…" 

There was a moment of silence and Jemma thought he was going to leave but he kept looking around, almost like he was looking for someone. 

"Did you um… Did you want something? Something that needs to be analyzed maybe or–"

"Oh no, sorry. I just-I had a friend who used to work here."

"Oh, did he leave SHIELD?"

No, he died," Hunter replied, his throat bobbing. "There was an accident. An explosion about a year ago."

Jemma almost jumped out of her chair at his words. She'd been debating with herself about going to someone from Fitz's old team to talk about him but she didn't know how to go about it. She couldn't exactly go to Daisy and say "Hey, I've been seeing this dead friend of yours in my sleep and there's a fifty/fifty chance that he's either real or a sexual fantasy of mine. Care to tell me more about him?" But Hunter was the one bringing him up so she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by her. Although she should probably try to look less enthusiastic as it might send the wrong message.

"You mean Agent Fitz, right?"

"Yeah," he replied frowning. "You knew him too?"

"No, I just… Maybe. I don't know." 

"Okayyyy…"

"Did you know him well?" Jemma asked before Hunter decided she was being too weird and found an excuse to escape.

"Yeah… Well, the weirdest thing is that he's been dead longer than we had been friends but yeah… He was a fun little weirdo and the only person on this base watching the right kind of football." There was a sad fondness on Hunter's face that suddenly made it easy for Jemma not to look too excited at the idea of talking about Fitz. He might not be dead but that didn't make his loss any less painful for his friends. And Hunter seemed to know him well as his words were quite an accurate depiction of the man she thought she'd gotten to know. But it was what he said next that made her do a double take. "I wish I went with him that day. Maybe I could have done something. I can still see him standing there with his bloody cardigan and his hands on his hips like a pregnant lady, complaining about how boring the drive alone would be." 

That was quite specific. The cardigan bit was troubling but from the pictures of him she'd seen, he wore them a lot. But the way Fitz stood with his hands on his hips… Jemma had noticed it several times when they were working together because it made her smile. It wasn't exactly sexy but it was funny and cute and she was pretty sure she couldn't have read _that_ in a file!

"I'm sorry," Jemma said, not wanting the silence to last too long when he'd just said something so sad and personal to a complete stranger. "I've read the report. There's nothing you could have done but get yourself killed as well." 

"Yeah… That's what Coulson said." He looked sad for another long moment before clearing his throat and affecting a more neutral spy face. "So what did you mean when you said you didn't know if you knew him?" 

"Ah…um I mean, we crossed paths at the Academy. Never really met but I heard a lot about him so I felt like I knew him a little."

"Right… Well, it's too bad. I think you would have liked each other," Hunter said with a chuckle. 

Jemma scrunched up her nose.

"You do?" 

"From what I heard about you, yeah." His smile widened. "Plus, I bet even his grumpy Scottish arse couldn't have been a grump with _you_ like he was with all the other _incompetent idiots_ working here," he added with a rather good imitation of Fitz's accent. 

Jemma blushed at the meaning behind his words and felt her heartbeat quicken. A little bit because her brain couldn't help going back to what had almost happened between them the previous night, but mostly because she couldn't ignore the signs that pointed to the incredible truth of it all. She didn't remember dreams ever being so vivid before or for them to still be so coherent after she'd woken up. And she really did have an excellent memory but all the data about the explosion was so detailed. And now, there were all these things about Fitz himself. They weren't in any files and she couldn't possibly know them simply from seeing him from afar on the quad once or twice at the Academy, could she? 

This was maddening. Her love life had always been complicated to say the least. But having to find out if the man she liked was real or not and then having to find a way to make him corporeal again, that was on an entirely new level.

* * *

After so many weeks spent working underground without barely seeing the sun, it was wonderful to feel the breeze on her face and the grass under her hands. She knew she had a book somewhere around but the sun was warming her skin just enough to make her feel drowsy and the dense, long grass was just so comfy. She would find time to read later.

"It's really pretty out here," Fitz whispered in her ear and she startled and shivered at the same time. "Is it Scotland?"

Ah. Of course. It was all too nice to be true although she couldn't be mad that Fitz had finally joined her.

"It is. Or what I remember of it at least."

Hunter had mentioned how Fitz had been missing home before the explosion and she'd been thinking about it all evening. It was so sad that he didn't even get to see his mum and home before he died. And even if he wasn't, in fact, dead, it was still sad to think he'd been stuck alone in this dimension for so long. But at least, it had been on her mind enough to give her this little dream time away from the lab. She braced herself for Fitz insisting they go back to work on his problem immediately but instead, he sighed deeply. When she opened her eyes, he was lying down next to her. He opened his arm for her to come closer and she didn't hesitate for a second, rolling on her side to rest her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her hair and Jemma let out a sigh of contentment. She wanted to ask why he was okay with taking a little time off for once but she didn't want to break the spell. It was all too soft and peaceful.

"It's nice here," he said. "Reminds me of home. I'd give anything for a nice hike up the hill behind my gramma's house or a swim in the lake."

She looked up at him. 

"Sorry I don't have memories like that to conjure here… but you can always enjoy _this_ with me then."

He smiled softly and cradled her cheek so Jemma took it as an agreement. She shifted until she could press her lips to his. It was incredibly tender as he wound his arms around her and pulled her closer. But his lips and hands were as warm as the sun above them and it slowly filled her with the same burning desire that seemed to be inevitable in his presence. She slowly rolled on top of him, wanting to feel more of this delicious heat. His hands travelled down her back and his kiss became hungrier, making her moan as she let her legs fall on each side of his hips. She broke the kiss and started kissing down his jaw and towards his neck where his unique scent was even stronger and more intoxicating. She nipped at the skin there and he whimpered so she did it again and again until he wound his arms around her tighter and rolled them around until he was on top of her. Jemma squealed with joy as he reattached his lips to hers but it only lasted a few seconds before he pulled back and she vainly tried to chase his lips. When she opened her eyes, the look on his face made her sigh. There was joy, fondness and desire but there was something more serious as well and she knew what it meant.

"We have to go back to work," he said, reaching for a strand of hair and placing it back behind her ear, his thumb brushing her cheek delicately as he did. "We still have no clue as to how we can replicate such an amount of energy."

"Come on Fitz. Can't we take a break? Just for tonight."

"I would rather find a solution to have a chance to see you, touch you...for real."

She pouted and pushed up on her elbows to kiss him again instead. But apparently, she agreed because when she let go of his lips and opened her eyes again, they were on the cold floor of the lab with nothing but Fitz's body to warm her skin. She was tempted to wrap her legs around him to keep him close a little longer but it was probably useless anyway.

"Sorry," Fitz said with a little sheepish smile as he stood up and extended his hand to help her up as well. "You look very pretty today," he added, looking down at the blue and white striped sundress she was wearing. It had little buttons on the chest and flared out from the waist to end just above the knees. It was nothing special and she found it adorable that Fitz complimented her when she was wearing this and not the sexy lingerie her mind had conjured up the last time. She used to have one just like that around the time she started at the Academy. Psychologically, she didn't know what it meant for her to wear it in her dream but she knew she liked the way Fitz looked at her now. 

"Thank you," she said as she gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"Ugh, this is going nowhere!" Jemma said as she fell back in her chair, rolling away from the desk.

She didn't have a single clue about how they were going to replicate such energy without actually having to blow up a bomb near a particle accelerator. And even if SHIELD was still considered an official organisation and someone agreed to let them do it, it would still be tricky to replicate the exact conditions that had opened up the passage.

Fitz grabbed the back of her chair and turned her around.

"There has to be a way," he said. "You're the smartest person I know. Between the two of us, we have to find something." 

"I don't know Fitz. It's easy to say but…"

"Wait. Maybe we're not in the best conditions to work. Isn't there something that usually helps you think?"

"I like to start the day with a good cup of tea," she offered. Not that she thought even the strongest tea could solve such a complicated problem.

"Right, that's a good start!" He started pacing. "What else? Don't you run on the treadmill in the morning? Physical activity has proven to be very effective to boost brain activity. It releases all kinds of good hormones, calms the nerves and clears your brain of all kinds of useless thoughts. But of course, you know that better than I do. After all, you're the bio– Jemma…" 

His eyes widened when he turned around and it took Jemma a second to understand why. Apparently her subconscious had gotten to its own kind of solution faster than her conscious brain. Her dress was gone and she was only in her underwear now. The cute, white cotton kind though. She grinned and went to stand right in front of him.

"Jemma…" he repeated weakly and she wound her arms around his neck to kiss him. He pulled her close and kissed her back for a moment. She walked them backwards until her back hit the side of the lab bench. Maybe they could pick up just where they left off. 

Or not. 

Fitz broke the kiss and looked down at her.

"Wait, this isn't…"

"But you're the one who suggested physical activity!"

"I was thinking more of going for a walk or a run or even to what passes as a gym on this base." 

"Oh, you're right," she said, a wide grin pulling at her lips. "Those mats are much comfier than the desk. It wouldn't hurt my bum so much. Although I usually like being on top anyway but that's negotiable if–"

"Jemma!" he cut her off.

"Sorry… But it's true. The hormones released during sex and orgasm are better than anything else."

"And you know how much I want you and-and… But I can't. Not while you're still not sure that this is real. And work won't go anywhere either until you know for sure that you believe me."

"But I do!" He raised his eyebrows. "At least I think I do," she added more quietly. 

"See," he said softly as he moved away from her.

"Ugh, Fitz!" she cried out in frustration. Even the low tone of his voice just then was enough to turn her on. Why was it so hard to tell him she believed him without a doubt? A big part of her really did. And if he wasn't real anyway, it wouldn't be so bad to lie to him just a little bit. 

"Hey, what seems to be the problem here?" 

Jemma's head shot up at the now familiar English accent and Fitz did the same. His eyes widened comically.

"What the hell? What is he doing here?" Fitz asked, his voice getting squeaky as Hunter walked towards them, not seeming embarrassed at all by Jemma's almost nakedness.

"He came by earlier and we talked about you. I thought you knew since you're—"

"I'm not in your brain. And I spent a few hours doing Tai Chi with May and watching Daisy train with her power. It's really impres– Hey!" 

Hunter had just walked around Fitz and was now standing close enough to Jemma that she could feel his body heat and her cheeks heated up under his gaze.

"What? He's cute and I'm frustrated with you and-and it's just my subconscious acting here anyway!" 

"Don't be like that, Fitzy," Hunter said as he turned around to flash Fitz a wide smile. "We could all have fun together," he said, extending his hand towards Fitz. 

"Hunter!" Fitz breathed out. "Wait… No, I mean Jemma!" he cried out, the disapproving tone in his voice kind of ruined by the red spots on his cheeks.

"Keep some of that energy for later, Fitz. You'll need it..." Hunter said, turning back around to wink at Jemma.

"What? No!" Fitz cried out, grabbing Jemma's hand and pulling her behind him to hide her. Jemma rolled her eyes. Like she needed anyone to shield her from her own fantasies.

"Fitz, are you jealous?" she asked, not able to hide the grin spreading on her face. It was ridiculous but also kind of sweet, she supposed.

"I'm not… Well yeah, maybe… It's just, I think we might have something very nice. You and me. I was thinking, when I get back, that we could go out on a date. Go out to dinner, start this on a healthier basis and–"

"That's not what the lady wants, Fitzy," Hunter singsonged as he moved closer again. 

Fitz groaned but the next second, his lips were on hers and Jemma melted into the kiss. One arm pulled her closer and she practically purred at how warm he was compared to the cold air of the lab on her skin. But then, his other hand slid into her hair as his tongue swept across her lower lip and a shiver ran down her spine. No man had ever had this effect on her, had ever overtaken all her senses so completely that she couldn't even think properly anymore. And it didn't help that he always kissed and touched her like a sailor coming back from months at sea.

They had to stop for air at some point but Fitz still adorably kept his forehead against hers. When she looked to the side, Jemma noticed that Hunter had disappeared. Which made sense since it had only taken a touch from Fitz's hand to make her forget about the other man entirely. She cupped Fitz's cheek, enjoying the slight stubble scratching the skin of her palm. 

"See," she said, smiling as he leaned into her touch. "I don't need Hunter or anyone else in my dreams. Just you."

And just as she was about to lean in for another kiss, he pulled back. 

"Of course!" he cried out. "Hunter! I'll be right back!" 

"What? What do you–" But he had already disappeared. "Fitz?" 

Loud noises resounded around her and it took her a moment to realize it was coming from the real world.

And just like that she was awake. She sat up in bed and blindly reached for her phone on the bed side table. It wasn't even midnight yet. There was another loud knock on her door. She reached for the light and groaned as she reluctantly pushed the covers before standing up. She shuffled towards the entrance of her bunk, not bothering to give herself a look in the mirror before opening the door. It better not be a work emergency or whoever needed her was not going to enjoy her mood. She just wanted to go back to sleep and see what Fitz had to tell her.

Her eyes widened when she found a very sleepy, grumpy looking Hunter looking at her.

"Hi," he said with a slightly apologetic smile. "So…um… I know this is going to sound crazy and it's probably just because we talked about him today. But I had the weirdest dream about Fitz and—" 

"He told you he's not dead, just–"

"–stuck in another dimension." 

"Yes!" Jemma cried out. 

"So it's true? The talking to people in dreams and-and… He's really still alive?" Hunter said, his face a mix of disbelief and happiness. 

"Yes," she repeated. "You have no idea how good it feels to know for sure and talk to someone about it. Because it means that I'm not crazy and he's real and–"

Hunter cut her off by pulling her into a tight hug. She squeaked in surprise and he pulled back. 

"Sorry, it's just… I'm so happy and–"

"That's alright. I understand," she said, squeezing his arm gently.

"So what do we do now?" 

"Well, tomorrow, you can help me convince Coulson that I need to make this a priority but in the meantime, I'll go back to sleep. I need to talk to him."

* * *

"Hi again." 

Fitz looked shy as he walked into the lab. 

"Hi. So… you're real, aren't you?"

"Well yeah… I told you so," he replied with a soft, teasing smile. "Like a hundred times."

She wanted to run to him and take him in his arms, kiss him and– Oh. She took her head in her hands instead.

"What is it?" he asked, worried.

"I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe the things I've done."

"Okay... not the first thing I thought you'd say when having the confirmation of the existence of alternate dimensions. I mean, it's been a year and I can hardly believe it myself…"

She looked up at him.

"No. I mean, of course it's... huge but… I thought you were a fantasy. I really did. But if you're real it means that I've practically assaulted you when you just wanted help to come back home. God," she repeated before hiding her face in her hands again.

He was in front of her in an instant.

"No, no, no, Jemma. If anyone should feel guilty, it's me. I could have pushed you away, insisted we wait until I could find a way to prove it to you. I should have been stronger but I wanted you so much." He took her hands in his. "It all felt so real and good and it had been a year since I could feel anything at all."

She looked up at him with a frown on her face. 

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure why but because I'm in this dimension so close to my original one, I can see and hear everything, although it's kind of faded, but I can't smell or taste or touch anything. I think it has to do with time passing differently, I'm not sure, but I don't feel hungry or sleepy or... anything either. Except when I'm in your dreams..."

Oh. She supposed she should have asked him more about that dimension he was in. But this explained so much about how desperate and passionate he was.

"So what we...um...the kissing and touching. These were the first things you felt in a year?"

"Yes."

She stood up and took his hand.

"Well then I know exactly what to do now."


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh my god, Jemma, that's so good."

This was what he had been missing his whole life. Fitz was sure of it. Nothing had ever tasted so good and nothing else ever would. 

"I don’t know if I should be flattered for my cooking or a little vexed that it seems to affect you more than my kisses. 

"Oh," Fitz let out, swallowing the last bite of his sandwich before continuing. "Sorry?" he offered with a sheepish smile. 

"That's alright. It's kind of cute." 

"In my defense," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin before standing up and moving closer to her. "As much as I'd like it not to be true, one year without sex isn't _that_ unusual for me, without food though..."

Jemma laughed and it made Fitz smile. He didn't care that it was at his expense, he just loved it when she laughed.

"Awww, poor Fitz," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. 

They shared a long meaningful look as Fitz pondered if she would mind him kissing her when he'd just been eating aioli. It was like his brain could now only focus on two things, Jemma and food.

"So...um," she said, looking almost shy suddenly. "Did you really mean it when you said you wanted us to go out on a proper date when you're back in our dimension?"

"Well, yeah! I thought it would be rather obvious with the kissing and everything."

"Kissing doesn't always lead to dating especially when it's in dreams. And I don't know, I was pretty...insistent," she said, looking down as her cheeks pinkened. "Maybe you just humored me to get me to--"

"Hey, hey, hey," Fitz cut her off, taking her face in his hands to make her look up. "I would never do that! Plus, I liked you long before we met in dreams, you know."

She frowned in confusion. 

"But how? Not at the Academy...we've never even really met back then..."

"No, here at the base. I was bored out of my mind before you came along. I'd seen your file, read it over Coulson's shoulder so I knew how smart you were. But I didn't know how much I'd like you until you met Nathanson!"

"Nathanson?"

"Yeah, the way you reminded him why you were head of the lab and he was a complete idiot while remaining so proper and polite... absolutely brilliant!"

Jemma grimaced as Fitz smiled just thinking about it. 

"Oh...that wasn't very nice of me."

"But it was all true," Fitz replied and she nodded as a little smirk pulled her lips up.

"I still spent some time with Bobbi and Daisy. And even May. I used to watch football with Hunter before he left and other than involuntarily gathering a lot of dirty secrets, there wasn't much to do. Especially since I don't sleep. Until you arrived at the base. You were so brilliant and interesting and funny, I-I..." He trailed off, feeling his cheeks heat up and realizing it might be too soon for a declaration of love. "I think I've spent the better part of those last three months following you around everywhere and I've gotten to know you better than I've known anyone before. And I like every bit of you."

"Oh Fitz..." she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before wrapping her arms around him. "I think this might be the most romantic thing I've ever heard. And I'm sorry it took so long for me to believe you. It must have been so lonely."

"Oh well, I'm not anymore now, I-"

"Wait!" she cut him off, stepping away from him. "You mean you've been gathering secrets about me?"

"No, no, no, not about you. Other people and only by accident. I promise. I only followed you to your bunk because you had a great book, I always turned around if you were naked or--"

"Oh, so you're a fan of Terry Pratchett?" she asked and Fitz let out the breath he'd been holding, relieved that she was focusing on this.

"Of course!" he replied matter of factly and that made her smile. "I realize it feels like intruding but I had nowhere to go and I-I'm glad I followed you to your room because that's when I heard your dreams." 

"Me too," she said with a soft smile before her expression changed, a frown appearing on her face. "To think I could have never known and you would have been stuck in this other dimension until you—" She pulled him closer once more, holding on to him tightly, as if she could bring him back to their dimension by holding him close enough.

His heart threatened to burst from all the affection, and maybe more, radiating from her. Fitz had no doubt that he was irrevocably in love with her but he'd had months to get to know her. She'd known him for a few days. He couldn't tell her that and put that kind of pressure on her. Hopefully, she would have the time to get there on her own when he was back in his dimension.

After a time, Jemma pulled back from the hug, a look of fiery resolve on her face. 

"We should get back to work. That's a very high level of energy we need to replicate. It's going to take time to find the solution."

Fitz raised his eyebrows. It was the first time she was the one to insist they get back to work. Her resolve made him feel all warm inside. 

"You're right," Fitz said, taking her hand before she could step back, a crooked grin pulling his lips up. "But you know you didn't actually tell me if you wanted to go on a date with me or not." 

She flashed him a bright smile.

"I'd love to, yes. You'll do most of the talking though. You already know everything about me."

Fitz grinned. He was pretty sure there was a lot more to learn about Jemma Simmons but he would do anything as long as he was with her and she'd be able to hear him and see him outside of her dreams.

She moved closer to press a light, gentle kiss to his lips. But she tasted wonderful and Fitz couldn't resist, sucking her full lower lip between his as his arms tightened around her back. His tongue darted out to taste the sugar on her lips and she moaned.

"Fitz…" 

"You taste like tea and chocolate and—" He kissed her again and she parted her lips without hesitation, keening as his tongue invaded her mouth, tangling with hers in the most delicious ways. Fitz hadn't even been very fond of dark chocolate before but mixed with the strong aromas of tea and Jemma's own intoxicating taste, it was indescribable. He could just devour her entirely. Jemma wound her arms around his neck, pressing her body closer to him and Fitz whimpered as the sensation went straight to his cock. Actually, devouring her was exactly what he should do right now. 

"We need…we need to focus," she let out in a breath when they came up for air. 

"What? Oh...um yeah, stay focused," Fitz said, his voice shaky as he closed his eyes for a moment. "You're right, I shouldn't let myself be distracted by kisses and a little chocol-aaate. Jemma," he whimpered.

Her blouse was half unbuttoned, revealing a red lacy bra Fitz was almost certain she hadn't been wearing earlier as he would have noticed her breasts being quite so pushed-up. And now, there were a few drops of —was it the strawberry coulis she had prepared for the cheesecake she'd summoned for him earlier?— very nicely _decorating_ her cleavage.

Jemma looked down before looking back up and giving him a faux-innocent smile. 

"Oops?" 

"Jemma…"

"Sorry. Subconscious" she said, her hand sliding down his arm slowly before twining her fingers through his. "And you're being very distracting with your hands and your lips..."

Her voice was breathy and low and her grip on his hand incredibly strong, like she was afraid to let go. Shivers ran up his arm. 

"Fitz?" she asked after a moment, tearing him away from the hypnotizing sight of her rising and falling chest to bring his gaze to the no less hypnotizing sight of her parted lips. 

"Oh okay," Fitz mumbled as he practically pounced on her, his arms encircling her as he walked them forward until her bum hit the back of the couch. 

Bending forward, he gave the top of her left breast a long slow lick, humming in pleasure as the taste and feel of it pushed any other thought out of his brain. 

Jemma giggled and tried to hold onto the back of the couch, pushing her breasts forward in the process. Fitz started unbuttoning the rest of her blouse until he remembered he didn't need to be so careful in here and ripped it open. 

"Fitz!" Jemma cried out but the delight barely hidden behind the faux-outrage told him she wasn't too sad about her dream blouse being ruined. 

Fitz looked down at her for a second. He was pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence her bra matched the strawberry on her skin. She was a perfectionist like that and he loved her all the more for it. But however pretty it was, the bra needed to go. It was real for them both now and they had no reason to stop now. He'd been waiting for a year already, a few moments of well deserved passion and comfort wouldn't make much of a difference.

He quickly divested her of her blouse before reattaching his lips to her skin, diving his tongue between her breasts to lick more of the strawberry before nipping at her skin. He licked and kissed and bit everywhere he could reach until she was trembling and her skin was covered in goosebumps. 

"Fitz," she pleaded. So he reached behind her, quickly undoing the clasp of her bra and letting it fall to the ground. 

Fitz bent over to suck her hardened nipple between his lips. 

She keened and reached between them to get her hands on his button and zip. But their position wasn't quite practical so Fitz palmed her bum and lifted her up on the edge of the couch. 

She pulled his face back up and thrust her tongue into his mouth as she wrapped her legs around his hips, moaning into the kiss as he rubbed his erection against her core. Fitz saw stars, the sensation almost too intense for his brain to comprehend. Fortunately, his body knew just what to do. He moved his hips again and again as Jemma pulled him always closer. After a time, she reached for his button and zip again and managed to get it undone, immediately sliding her hand to get ahold of his cock. It made Fitz twitch and their position, which was already quite unsteady became too unbalanced and Jemma fell backward with a squeal, pulling Fitz with her. 

But as Fitz braced himself for tumbling down the couch, only hoping neither of them would hit their head on the coffee table, he was welcomed by a soft, springy sensation. Opening his eyes, he found himself, as he expected, half on top of Jemma, but below them was the biggest, fluffiest bed he had ever seen. On their left, there was a large window with the sunlight filtering through thin curtains and… was that the ocean he could hear?

"Oh!" Jemma let out, a smile spreading over her face as she pushed up on her forearms to get a better look at the place. "Isn't the brain a wonderful thing?"

"Well obviously but would you mind elaborate on why precisely at the moment?"

She chuckled as she sat up, pulling him with her. 

"We're in Portugal. I went to a conference in this lovely little town next to the ocean a few years ago and my hotel room was a dream, of the metaphorical kind of course. I always thought it was too bad I didn't have a lover to enjoy this ridiculously large bed with at the time. I guess my mind just...went there when we started falling." 

" _Your_ brain is the most wonderful thing ever," Fitz said. He really wanted to come back to the real world but he was finally starting to appreciate the good parts of this whole dream thing. 

"We don't even have to stay here," she said, her smile mischievous. "We could go out, make love on the beach or in the ocean. If I think about it, maybe I can make all the people disappear and make the water hotter so we don't—"

Fitz pinned her to the bed before rolling on top of her and she giggled delightedly. 

"I think the bed will do for now. We'll go to that beach when I'm back in the real world."

Jemma cradled his cheek softly. 

"Planning a romantic vacation before we even had our first date?" 

"I'm feeling optimistic today," he said, grinning as he bowed down to kiss her. She hummed her assent before parting her lips and deepening the kiss. 

Without the guilt of kissing her without her knowing it was all real, Fitz could focus on the wonderful sensation of her tongue twisting with his, the soft skin under his hands and the incredible heat of her body he could feel even through his own clothes. She parted her legs to wrap them around him and they both moaned as his erection rubbed against her center. His hand moved down from her side to her thigh and he pulled her tighter as he started grinding against her. 

Heat gathered quickly as they moved together, the light breeze and sound of the ocean the perfect background music to finally give them the opportunity to explore this incredible attraction Fitz had never felt before in his life. 

Soon, Jemma's hands reached between them to undo the buttons of his shirt before pushing his pants and trousers down, freeing his cock. She closed her palm around it and started stroking firmly. Fitz whimpered as he broke the kiss, his head falling on her shoulder as he surged into her hand. The sensation was incredible and he could have gotten lost in it but he wanted more. He wanted them to be joined and have their bodies so close it would feel like they could fuse together. 

"Clothes," he mumbled against her skin. "Off," he added and she mumbled something that resembled a "yes". She let go of him and started pushing his shirt down his shoulders. But they had to separate for a moment to get it all out of the way more efficiently so he rolled off her and stood up. He got rid of his shirt for good and took his shoes off as he pushed his pants and trousers all the way down. When he was completely naked, he looked back at Jemma and realized she hadn't moved at all. Instead she was unashamedly looking him up and down, her eyes sparkling with lust as she bit her bottom lip. If he ever felt bad about his body again, he would just have to remember this moment. 

"This whole thing won't be very conclusive if you keep your jeans on," he said, coming back to hover over on his hands and knees. 

"It could be for you," she replied with a saucy grin as she looked at his cock. 

"Could be but I want your pussy."

"Fitz," she said, her voice filled with both surprise and delight.

"I want to see it, touch it." He bowed down and swirled his tongue around her nipple. "Taste it." He ground his hips against her core. "And be inside it." 

Jemma moaned as she arched into him. "Then take my clothes off!"

Fitz didn't have to be told twice. He moved back, quickly undoing her button and zip before pulling it with her knickers down her legs before throwing it on the pile of his clothes on the ground. She was so beautiful, all pale skin, freckles and soft curves. Spread out like that on the white sheets with the sun playing on her skin, she looked like a dream. And, in a way, she was but she felt also more real than anything Fitz had lived in his life. 

"Now, who's watching and not moving?" Jemma cut him off in his contemplation and he chuckled. 

"It's your fault. Look how gorgeous you are."

"Then come take a closer look," she said, looking him straight in the eyes as she spread her legs apart. His cock twitched and he groaned as he sprung into action. He really was no match to how fierce Jemma Simmons was but he was going to do his best anyway. Kneeling between her legs, he took one and lifted it up to press a kiss to the inside of her ankle. She let out a throaty giggle and Fitz started kissing his way down her calf until he reached the sensitive skin of the inside of her thigh. She was not laughing anymore and her breathing quickened, her chest rising and falling enticingly. Fitz could almost taste the musky scent of her arousal as he moved closer and it was intoxicating. He nuzzled the fine skin above her folds, pressing butterfly kisses for a moment until he finally gave in and licked a long slow line from bottom to top. Now this was the best thing he'd ever tasted. 

Then she moaned as her hips stuttered and Fitz was pretty sure it was also the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. He focused on her clit then, teasing her with light sweeps of his tongue before sucking it between his lips. Fitz felt emboldened by the erotic noises coming out of her mouth and pressed two fingers at her entrance before pushing in. Her inner muscles tightened around him as she moaned and Fitz started moving, his tongue still lapping at her clit eagerly. 

"Oh Fitz, I...I..." He crooked his fingers inside her and she gasped. He must have found the right spot within her so he kept doing it, his own desire getting higher and higher with every moan and whimper that came out of her mouth. Finally, almost too soon, he felt her walls clench around his finger and she came, hips pushing off as all the muscles in her body seemed to tense at once. "Fitz!" she moaned one last time before relaxing against the mattress. 

Before Fitz had the time to move, she took his hand and pulled him on top of her before rolling them over. 

Fitz laughed as he looked up at her. "Someone's impatient."

She wiggled over him until she was straddling his hips and his cock twitched. "Someone's not alone," she replied, raising an eyebrow as she looked down between them. "And I've waited long enough!" 

"You mean three days?" 

"I mean my whole life," she replied without a single hesitation and Fitz's heart skipped a beat. 

"Jemma…" 

She cradled his cheek, her expression impossibly soft and tender. "That's why I couldn't believe you were real. You're too good to be true. And you continue to make it hard to believe you're real when you haven't touched anyone in over a year and still choose to focus on my pleasure first. In my experience, only a dream man would do that." 

"Well," he started, the shaking in his voice betraying his emotions. "Maybe we're both dreaming then because only in dreams would I deserve to be with someone like you." 

She bent over to kiss him softly. "Fitz, you deserve all of me and I'm going to make sure you have all the time in the world to see it. But not before I make you scream my name."

"Oh really? You think you can— Oh!" She descended on him, her wet heat surrounding him completely and stars exploded behind his eyelids. It was almost too much, like he might pass out from the sudden onslaught of sensations. So he slid his hands up to her hips, needing to feel grounded. 

She started moving, rolling her hips slowly at first before finding an angle and rhythm that seemed just as pleasurable for her as it was for him. It all felt incredible, the friction, the heat that enveloped him as she moved and she looked so beautiful his eyes didn't seem to know where to focus. Her head was tilted backwards and her breasts were swaying with every movement of her hips up and down his cock. But she wasn't nearly close enough. He wanted to feel her body against his and be able to kiss her and taste all her skin. 

After a moment, he managed to sit up and, wrapping his arms around her as not to break their connection, he folded his legs under him.

"Fitz!" she gasped. 

"Is that alright?"

She rolled her hips and whimpered. 

"Very alright!" 

Her movements weren't quite as deep like that but he was able to run his hands all over, and nip at the tender skin of her shoulders and it seemed to work well for her. Her pace quickened along with the beating of her heart. She took his hands and brought them up to her tits and Fitz was happy to oblige, groaning as he caressed the warm skin and flicked her puckered nipples. She descended on him hard once, twice more and came again, moaning as her forehead fell against his. She cupped the back of his head, her fingers digging into his curls as she captured his lips in an urgent kiss, her tongue pressing for entrance. With her hips rolling and her inner walls still clenching around him, it wasn't long until Fitz was close to the edge. He slid his hands back to her hips and pulled her down on him a few more times, gasping for breath against her lips until his hips thrust up and his climax hit him. 

"Jemma!" he groaned as he held her close through his release, her pussy clenching hard around him to milk any remnant of pleasure for both of them.

After a long moment, she moved off him and he opened his arm for her to tuck herself against his side as they laid side by side on the bed. The breeze was making the curtains fly and caressed their overheated bodies. Fitz sighed in contentment. This was the most happy and peaceful he had felt in a long time. He knew part of it was because of all the endorphins but he also knew that it had a lot more to do with the woman next to him and the words she'd spoken to him earlier.

"Fancy a long shower before going back to work?" Jemma said, her voice all soft and dreamy. "Or a bath? They had that incredible bathtub with all kinds of jets and bubbly things that felt really quite interes—"

"Skye!" Fitz cut her off.

"What?" 

"I mean Daisy, sorry…"

Jemma straightened up on her elbow to look down at him with a frown on her face.

"Okay Fitz, I'm not the jealous kind, but this is the second time you've cried out someone else's name during an intimate moment and I hope this is not going to be a regular thing." 

Fitz shook his head as he straightened up to face her.

"No, I mean her power. She makes molecules vibrate so do you think maybe she could—"

"Accelerate them?" 

"Yeah…"

"But that's an enormous amount of energy she would have to create. I know her power has been getting stronger but you really think she could do something like this?" 

"It's worth asking at least," Fitz replied and she smiled before her face took on that serious expression he knew so well from having watched her work so many times. She sat up fully. 

"Yes it is. But that's going to mean a lot of testing, simulations and precautions to be taken so she doesn't risk her life. Which means—"

"The bath will have to wait," Fitz finished for her and she nodded. "That's fine, we'll take a real one soon." 

"You should try and see if you can talk to her first. It would make it easier when I explain everything to her tomorrow." 

Fitz sighed, pressing one last kiss to Jemma's lips before making an inhumane effort to stand up. "Better go now. Hope it's not too late to catch one of her dreams and I have a feeling she won't be as easy to convince as Hunter." 

"Good luck!"

* * *

Fitz opened his eyes and gasped as he recoiled. What was wrong with those nuns? Fortunately, he didn't keep their attention long as they turned back towards Daisy. He recognized her but it was a much younger version of herself, about fifteen maybe and she looked terrified. She'd talked to him a lot about life at the orphanage and they'd often joked while comparing their awful childhoods to see who had it worse. She'd said she still dreamed about it sometimes but he had no idea it was like that. Although he supposed he should have. His own childhood dreams were pretty awful and he knew Daisy's childhood had actually been much worse than his. And now he also felt guilty for all those horror movies he'd made her watch.

She started running and Fitz followed. He lost her when she turned the corner into a dark hallway but somehow managed to run into her at the next one. 

"Fitz?" she squeaked. Although it was a younger version of her, she seemed to recognize him immediately. He pulled her through the closest door and they ended up in the Bus, in her old bunk. 

"Listen Daisy, there's something I need to—"

She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've missed you so much," she whispered against his shoulder and Fitz felt tears pool in his eyes. He'd seen how she had mourned him after his supposed death. He'd seen her cry and even talk to a picture of him and, more than once, he had screamed from the top of his lungs, trying to make himself heard, trying to tell her he was here and she should look out for him. It was wonderful to talk to her again, even if it was going to be hard convincing her it was real.

"I've missed you too," he said before pulling back. "But we will see each other soon," he said and she frowned, obviously confused, so Fitz continued, hoping she was at least going to stay asleep long enough for him to tell her everything she needed to hear. "Daisy, I have something important to tell you and it's going to sound crazy but I need you to believe me and I need you to remember this dream when you wake up. It's the most important thing I've ever asked of you."


	6. Chapter 6

Jemma woke up the next morning both exhausted and full of nervous energy. She was glad for the little note she had left herself after Hunter's visit because with everything that had happened that night, she might have had trouble discerning what had been real, a normal dream and a "real dream". 

After a quick workout, a long shower and breakfast, Jemma made her way to the lab. She knew talking to Daisy was a priority as it was the only possible solution they had for Fitz's return, but until Coulson was in on the whole thing, she still had samples to analyze that apparently couldn't wait until later that day. At least, that would give her time to think about how she was going to go about talking to Daisy. Should she just go ahead and ask her if she'd had a visit from a dead friend the previous night or try something more subtle?

Turned out it wasn't necessary as Daisy showed up at the lab barely half an hour after Jemma had started working. Which was strange on its own as Daisy usually trained until at least nine thirty unless she had a day off or a specific mission. 

"Hello Daisy," Jemma said, taking off her goggles and looking up at her friend. 

"Hi… So, um, how have you been doing lately?" she asked, leaning a little bit too casually against the wall. 

"Really well, thank you. How about you?" 

"Oh…you know…" Daisy replied with a vague hand gesture. Jemma really didn't. She really liked Daisy but she didn't know her that well yet and, on any other day she would have asked for more details but hopefully, the young woman was going somewhere with that and Jemma wanted to get there faster. 

"Of course," Jemma replied. Daisy nodded, staring into space for a moment before her eyes focused on Jemma again, tilting her head to the side like she was studying her. After a moment, she moved forward, coming to stand next to Jemma's workstation. 

"Are you sure you're alright? You look a little tired. Are you sleeping alright?"

Jemma couldn't keep the smile off her face at the simple thought of what her nights had been filled with lately. And now, she knew where Daisy was going with that.

"I have but I have to say my dreams have been really quite…intense lately." 

Daisy took another step closer.

"Ah, I see. I had surprising dreams myself last night." 

"Interesting." 

"Is it?" Daisy said, squinting her eyes.

"Well, I have certainly been seeing interesting people in dreams, doing interesting things with them. Going nice places and all that…"

"Interesting places?" Jemma nodded. "Like in Southern Europe? Maybe close to the beach? Maybe even somewhere you'd already been with for a conference back when—" 

"You've seen Fitz, haven't you?" Jemma cut her off and Daisy's eyes widened.

"Yes! Is it really true?"

"Yes!" Jemma cried out as she stood up. "You have no idea how good it is to know for sure. I felt like I was going mad—"

"Oh god, this is huge. I can't believe it… I mean Fitz and… all this time he's been alive and we had a memorial for him and…" Daisy brought her hand to her heart, her face a mix of emotions Jemma couldn't even begin to imagine. Her feelings for Fitz were confusingly intense and she wanted him back into their dimension more than anything but she'd only known him a few days. She hadn't been through the process of losing and mourning him. Daisy's breathing became louder. "I need to sit down," she said and Jemma immediately led her towards the comfortable chairs next to the door, making her bend over to make her breathing easier. 

"That's alright, Daisy. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out." 

After a minute, Daisy looked up and took a deep breath. 

"I'm alright," she said softly as a smile slowly made its way on her face. "Fitz is really alive?" she asked again and Jemma beamed at her. 

"Yes, he is." 

"So how can I help?"

* * *

There was no simple way to explain what she was going to ask of her so Jemma started by showing Daisy the simulation recreating what had happened a year ago that had sent Fitz in another dimension. Daisy wasn't a scientist but she was smart and it didn't take long for her to understand how she could help. 

"Well of course, I'll try," Daisy said after a time. "Anything to bring back Fitz. But how are we going to go about this? I mean we have no idea how powerful my powers are and making things vibrate is one thing but making particles… accelerate is another."

"I know," Jemma replied plaintively as she sat back in her chair. "I know it's a lot and we're going to need to run tests and find the best way to do this without risking your life. So, actually, I think the first thing would be to talk about it to Coulson, convince him that it should be my priority for now."

"Wouldn't it have been easier if Fitz talked to him last night as well?" 

"Ah well, we've been quite busy last night and—"

"Oh right…busy?" Daisy repeated, raising her eyebrows with an amused smile. And if Fitz telling her they'd been in a romantic hotel room near the beach wasn't enough to let Daisy know what was going on between them, the heat creeping up Jemma's neck and cheeks were a dead giveaway. "Well, I can't say I'm really surprised. I thought he'd like you the moment I met you. But still that was fast. And in dreams too!"

"Well, I didn't think he was real at first so…um…anyway, let's go talk to Coulson, shall we?" Jemma said realizing too late that she had probably said too much. She stood up, grabbing her tablet and started walking decidedly towards the door, hoping it would be enough to make Daisy follow and stop asking questions. 

"Wait, wait, wait, what does that mean?" Daisy asked, running after her. "Did you think Fitz was like… a fantasy or something?"

"Daisy, please! We have more pressing matters!"

"Oh my god, you totally did! You thought Doctor Fitzy was here just to please you. Oh my god, that must have blown his mind. How did he—"

"Daisy, please!" Jemma cut her off. She really didn't want to talk about this in the middle of the hallway and as much as she liked Daisy, she didn't think they were close enough to talk about those things just yet. Although she couldn't help smiling a little bit as she pictured Fitz right now, probably standing somewhere close looking very embarrassed and pleading with her to not answer anymore of Daisy's questions. 

"Ugh fine! But when Fitz gets back, we're going to have a long conversation." 

Jemma rolled her eyes and just kept walking. But really, once Fitz was back in their dimension, she'd be fine facing whatever questions Daisy would have.

* * *

"If this is some sort of prank, it's in very poor taste," Coulson said after a very long moment of silence and Jemma sighed. Of course, she didn't expect him to believe them so easily but it was frustrating nonetheless. Every minute they wasted explaining what was happening was one more minute Fitz spent alone in his nightmare dimension. 

"Is this some sort of British humor?" he asked, standing up and walking towards her and Hunter. Daisy and Jemma had crossed paths with the Brit on their way to Coulson's office and had all agreed that three people wouldn't be too much to convince their boss of Fitz's non-death. 

"No boss, I know it's hard to believe but we've all seen him," Hunter said.

"Yes and do you really think we would joke about this? You know how much we all miss him," Daisy added and Jemma saw something change on Coulson's face. His frown relaxed and although the man was often inscrutable, she thought she saw something akin to hope in his eyes. 

"I didn't believe it at first either," Jemma said, not giving him the time to doubt and adding more points in their favor. "I tried to convince myself I knew all these things about him because of things I'd read in files but all the details about the explosion… Even with my excellent memory, I couldn't have remembered all this. And do you really think you can _dream_ such a detailed scientific experiment? Dreams are never _that_ coherent." 

"You're a genius Simmons. Maybe you can!"

"Sir, please," Jemma replied with a patient smile. If this was the best he had then it meant she was close to convincing him. 

He turned around for a moment, letting out a heavy breath before his posture suddenly changed, squaring his shoulders before he turned back around.

"Fine," he said, a smile spreading over his face. "What do you need?" 

"As much time as possible with Daisy, all the lab assistants that you can spare and a lot of naps." 

"Naps?" he repeated, frowning.

"I might need Fitz's opinion on certain things. We've been working pretty well together these past few nights." 

Coulson chuckled as he nodded. 

"Right. You know, I always thought you two would get on." 

"Oh they did, Director," Daisy said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Really? What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"I'm just saying that Jemma wasn't too mad that he invaded her dreams even when—"

"Daisy!" Jemma admonished.

"What? I'm just happy for my friends and I want to share my joy."

"Guys?" Coulson interrupted, a now very amused smile on his face that made Jemma's cheeks heat up. "Go to work. Bring our man back."

* * *

"Hello."

Jemma startled at the voice but immediately relaxed as a pair of now familiar arms closed around her waist. Now that was a way of greeting her she could definitely get used to. She let her head fall back against his, delighting at the sensation of his warmth in contrast with the fresh wind coming the ocean. As she'd fallen asleep, her mind had brought her back right where they had been the previous night. 

"You've taken your time to join me today. I've been waiting for hours."

Fitz chuckled as he pressed a kiss to her hair. 

"You've been asleep for less than twenty minutes. And I had to talk to Coulson first. Thought he'd like proof and, um, it was nice too."

"Yeah?" Jemma asked, turning around to look at him with a soft smile. The emotions were as clear on his face as they were in his voice. She couldn't even begin to imagine how lonely it had been all these months and how happy he must be to get to talk to his friends even if it was just in dreams.

"Yes." His smile widened. "And it should make things easier for you now that he no longer thinks you're all crazy. Or at least no crazier than he is."

Jemma chuckled and, turning around completely, she wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing contentedly as she nuzzled his neck. It was easy to forget reality when they were here together in their own little world. But after what felt like several minutes but might have been seconds or hours in the real world —time passed by so strangely in here— Jemma sighed and pulled back. They had to get to work before it was time for her to wake up. 

"Let's go to work?" she said and Fitz simply nodded as he took her hand. She led him out towards the door and, instead of a hallway, entered the lab. She was starting to get the hang of making what she wanted appear in dreams. She chuckled and Fitz looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"It'd be nice to have a door leading to a pretty hotel room by the ocean in my _real_ lab."

Fitz laughed as he pulled her hand to his lips to kiss it before letting go. 

"I'm afraid we'll have to keep that project for later." 

"So," Jemma started as she sat in front of her computer. "Were you with me all day?"

"Yes. Skye, uh, Daisy's powers have become impressive," Fitz replied. "But—"

"Not quite as strong as we need them to be."

Fitz nodded as he flopped into his chair. 

After Coulson had given them the go-ahead, Jemma had spent all day with Daisy testing her powers, too happy to let her colleagues analyze another set of boring samples that would probably not reveal anything interesting. Daisy had done a good job explaining how her powers worked. Her mother might have turned out to be a monster but she and Lincoln had trained Daisy well and she really had a good understanding of it all. After that, they'd spent the day testing them in the containment pod, trying to measure how heavy an object she could move, how far she could send it or how she could break it apart. It had all been very impressive and fascinating but the hard part had come when she tried to focus all her powers on a single point to gather enough energy to open a passage. 

"Exactly. So we need to find a way to amplify them without exhausting her body or have her bones break the way they did at first." Fitz sighed. "And so far I have nothing."

"Well I might," Jemma declared, not able to hide the excitement in her voice even though it was only just a theory.

"You do?"

"I was turning everything around in my head as I was trying to fall asleep and I think I finally found something. The containment pod." 

"Well, yeah it's obvious we need the experiment to be done in the containment pod but I don't see how—"

"It's made of adaptive material, right?" Jemma cut him off.

Fitz nodded.

"When I first came to the base, I spent quite some time reviewing schematics about all the technologies we're using here and I thought the containment pod was especially brilliant." Fitz's frown of confusion turned to a cute, proud smile. "So, correct me if I'm wrong but it's in fact made of several layers of millions of tiny panels programmed to absorb whatever energy is sent their way, making the outside shell of the pod completely untouchable from anyone who's inside the pod."

"Sounds easy when you put it like that but okay," Fitz said a teasing smile and Jemma rolled her eyes.

"So what if instead of absorbing the energy, we programmed the panels to let the energy bounce back and—"

"Amplify it. Yes!" Fitz cried out as he stood up to put his arms on hers shoulders excitedly. "That's brilliant Jemma!" 

"Yeah?"

"Of course, it's perfect. Well, it'll be tricky and we'll need to make sure that the energy—"

"Doesn't hit Daisy once it's bounced back, yes. So she'll have to practice a lot."

"And we need to come up with a new protective suit for her too."

Jemma sighed. It was all very exciting but it was going to be a lot of work and while they worked, Fitz was still trapped in another dimension. He seemed to notice her change in mood and stepped closer, taking her hands in his. 

"I'm so lucky I found you," he said with a soft smile. "We're going to solve this together. Don't worry about me, I still have a lot of time." 

"I know… but I won't rest until you're back in the real world. Literally and figuratively." 

Fitz laughed and Jemma relaxed a little. 

"Sorry about that. When I get back I'll make sure Coulson gives at least a whole week off for you to sleep all you want."

If she had a whole week off and Fitz in her dimension, Jemma didn't think sleep would be all she would do but she needed to get her mind off those ideas for now and get to work instead. Giving Fitz's hands a squeeze, she let go and walked back to her computer.

"Then, let's get to work."

* * *

For the next few days, Jemma worked day and night to modify a containment pod and create Daisy's suit. During the days, she had a team to help her work on the programming, testing and designing a rather inelegant but hopefully efficient suit and during the night, she worked with Fitz and tried her best to remember every modification he'd suggested or calculation they might have done together. She could see that he was growing impatient and frustrated with every passing day. Which was understandable. He was the one trapped in another dimension not able to do anything when this phase of their rescue plan would have been his specialty more than hers. But every time Fitz's mood got bad, Jemma took him in her arms, kissed him and reminded him that they would soon get to work together, for real, all the time. After he'd taken a very well deserved vacation off the base. She didn't know which prospect made him the happiest but it usually was enough to make him revert back to the sweet puppy version of himself that made Jemma's heart flutter in her chest. 

Daisy spent as much time as she could training with May and she was getting better at focusing her powers really fast. On the second day, Bobbi joined Jemma in the lab, taking charge of the team working on non-Fitz related stuff and still giving a hand on the Fitz rescue mission whenever she could. In fact, by some sort of happy coincidence, things had been rather slow recently and by the third day, everyone from Fitz's old team and anyone who had known him had come to help. Mack helped do the modifications on the containment pod, Coulson tried his best to supervise and make sure no one wasted Jemma's time and Hunter provided support, snacks and humorous comments to lift up the mood. 

On the sixth day, everything was ready for Daisy to test the modified containment pod and her suit. And, after a lot of tests, data collection and close surveillance of Daisy's vital signs as well as a lot of huffing and sighing, it was finally decided that Fitz's rescue mission would be launched the next day. Daisy needed a good night's sleep and Jemma still had to make sure Fitz didn't have any more suggestions to make that would ensure an even better chance of success.

* * *

"Hey," Fitz said softly as he came to lie down next to her on the grass. 

At dinner, the team had debated if they should tell his mother about Fitz being alive and them attempting a rescue mission but they had come to the conclusion that it was probably better to wait until he was really back. Jemma didn't like to think of the possibility that it might not work but she had to agree with the team anyway. The woman had mourned for her son and it would be too cruel to give her false hopes. Jemma had still been thinking about it when she went to bed so it hadn't surprised her to find herself back in Scotland once she had fallen asleep. 

Once settled, he opened his arm for her and Jemma squeaked in surprise when he pulled her on top of him instead of just letting her snuggle against his side. Cupping the back of her neck, he pulled her down for a kiss. It was soft and slow and wonderful and for a moment, Jemma let herself get lost in it. 

But even in such a beautiful, peaceful place, with the gentle Scotland sun, the breeze and the scent of flowers, Jemma's worries pulled her out of the moment after a time. Fitz looked at her in confusion when she pulled back and rolled to the side. She couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips as she noticed how things had quickly changed between them. How the last time they were here, he'd been the one so hesitant to let their kisses go further than that. Of course, now she understood why he'd been that way and she loved him all the more for it. Love. The word had been dancing around in her brain and on her lips recently, just waiting for the right opportunity to slip out. But they'd barely known each other for ten days, several of those during which she didn't even think he was real. And she didn't want to do it in a hurry. There'd be plenty of time to do it properly once Fitz was safely back to their dimension. 

Jemma sighed as she lifted herself up on her elbow. "We should go to the lab."

"But why?"

"Well, to check all the calculations once more. I'm sure you have suggestions to give us even better chances of—"

"Jemma," he cut her off, taking her hand in his. "I don't. It's perfect. You've all done a great job with this. Even Nathanson as much as it annoys me to admit it."

"But maybe we should do more tests, let Daisy train a little longer, I'm sure there are ways to... I don't know…" She trailed off. 

Fitz sat up properly and pulled her up with him to better look her in the eye.

"Jemma, what is it?"

"I just…Maybe we should wait a little longer before going through with the experiment."

"But don't you want me back?" 

He looked confused and hurt and Jemma's heart broke a little at the misunderstanding. If only he knew how much she wanted him back. 

"Fitz no, of course I want you back. More than anything else." She took his hands in hers, needing to feel the comfort of his touch and his warmth. "But that's the thing. What if we do something wrong or we failed to notice a flaw in the experiment? What if it doesn't work? What if you end up in yet another dimension where you can't even reach me in my sleep? I might never see you again and I wouldn't even know what happened. What if the energy kills you? We don't know anything about how that dimension works or—"

She was cut off by his lips on hers, warm and moving with a passion that stole her breath away. He pressed his tongue at the seam of her lips and deepened the kiss, rendering her brain wonderfully blank for a moment before pulling back and tearing a small whimper from her throat. He smiled widely when she opened her eyes again.

"I'm sorry for cutting you off like that but you were rambling."

"Hey!" 

He laughed before pecking her lips.

"I love that you're worried about doing things right but we've done all we could. We will never be more ready. We have to try. Because as nice as _this_ is," he said, squeezing her hand. "This is not a life. Not really."

He brought her hand up to his cheek and the slightly scratchy feeling of his stubble sent a shiver up her arm.

"See? _This_ is proof that time is still passing here. It's very slow and it might take months or years on your side but I will get tired and thirsty and I will die eventually if I don't make it back to my dimension."

Jemma had a million thoughts swirling in her brain, wanting to get out but ultimately, she knew he was right. They just had to try and if it didn't work, they would try again. She would find a way to get access to a particle accelerator if it was necessary. 

"I know," she said, pressing her forehead to his. "Fitz I-I… Just come back to me, okay?"

Fitz hummed as he gently cradled the back of her neck. 

"Next time we'll see each other, it'll be in the real world."

* * *

"So, remember you have to focus the maximum amount of energy on the targets we put on the walls of the pod. This will be the best way to reflect and amplify your power without—"

"Simmons!" Daisy cut her off, giving her a sincere but slightly impatient smile. "I know! We went over this yesterday. A lot. And it's not all that difficult, really." 

"Right, sorry. But are you sure you're well rested? If you need another day or maybe you want to eat something or..." Jemma trailed off under Daisy's gaze. 

Looking around at all the lab techs and Fitz's friends waiting outside the pod, Daisy grabbed Jemma's arm and pulled her out of sight for a moment. 

"Listen Jemma, I know how badly you want Fitz back and I'm really happy you two found each other but Fitz is one of my closest friends," she said, her expression hardening for a second before softening again. "I want him back more than anything too." 

"Oh Daisy, I never thought you didn't, I just—"

"I know. But trust me, I wouldn't do this if I didn't think I was completely ready." 

"Of course," Jemma said, forcing a hopeful smile on her face. "Then, let's give it a try. I'll tell you when you reach the required level of energy and you'll just have to hold it long enough to let Fitz go through." 

"See? Easy peasy!"

"Good luck," Jemma said with a smile before clearing her throat and turning around as Daisy entered the pod, the door closing behind her. 

"Alright, everyone not needing to be here, out. The rest of you behind the line," she said, going to stand behind the line where they had installed all the equipment needed to record the experiment and measure all variables to know when it would hit (or not) the necessary amount of energy inside the pod. It had been installed in the hangar bay to avoid any destruction inside the base, just in case the experiment didn't go as planned. The pod should contain all energy inside but they were dealing with a completely new type of science and they could never be too careful. 

Everyone had left except Coulson, May, Bobbi, Hunter and Mack. For a second, she was tempted to tell them that aside from Mack and Bobbi who had worked on it, the others didn't need to be here, but given the looks on their faces, she decided against it after all.

"Whenever you're ready Daisy," Jemma said in the mike for Daisy to hear. 

Daisy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her vital signs monitor indicated a heart rate of 62 bpm, which was rather impressive given the pressure on her at the moment. Then, extending her arms in front of her, she started projecting her vibrations. 

The energy readings started going up quickly, quicker than Jemma had anticipated, and she allowed herself to hope. As it kept going up so was Daisy's heart rate, but it remained reasonable and the pod was holding up well.

"That's very good Daisy, just a little bit more," Jemma encouraged her as it started to slow down the closer it got to the desired level. Behind her, the rest of the team was standing completely still, looking like they were holding their breaths as their eyes travelled from Daisy to the monitor. Finally, the monitor let out a beeping noise and for a second, Jemma had the ridiculous notion that it should have been much bigger or louder given the implication of what it was warning them about. 

"That's it Daisy. Now hold it as long as you can." 

She looked like she was straining and her heart rate had gone up again. But it was still in the green and, anyway, she shouldn't have to hold it much longer. The passage should open soon and Jemma didn't have a single doubt that Fitz would use it immediately and thus logically appear in the pod with Daisy. 

"Here," Bobbi said, pointing towards the screen. The same abnormal density of air Jemma and Fitz had found during the particle accelerator incident was now forming inside the pod and quickly expanding. Jemma held her breath.

"I can’t hold it much longer," Daisy said, voice straining. Her vital signs were approaching the red zone.

"It's happening Daisy. The passage is open. Fitz should be here any second now."

"What is he waiting for?" Hunter hissed, coming closer to look at the monitor as if it would change anything. 

"Simmons? What's…taking him…so long?" 

The anomaly was expanding outside the pod, past the zone their equipment was monitoring. What was taking him so long?

The energy became unstable and started going down.

"Daisy, please," Jemma whispered, more to herself than the young woman. She knew she was doing all she could and she couldn't ask her to risk her life more than she was already doing. An alarm bipped as Daisy's vital signs hit the red zone. 

"She has to stop," Coulson said. 

Jemma's chest constricted as panic set in. It was her fault. She must have done something wrong, made a wrong calculation. She should have insisted they do more tests. They had no idea the effect the opening of the passage might have on him. What if he couldn't see it? What if something happened to him and he couldn't be in the room? 

"I have to…" Daisy started and then suddenly nothing. Jemma stared in shock at the monitor as the energy level dropped back down to zero. It took Bobbi and Coulson running towards the pod for Jemma to realize Daisy had collapsed on the floor. Her vision was getting blurry as thoughts of all the things that might have happened to Fitz crossed her mind but she couldn't let that feeling take over. Daisy needed her now. And, as ridiculous and frustrating as it was, the best thing she could do next would be to go and take a nap and hope with all her heart that Fitz was still out there with a good explanation. 

Daisy was still conscious when Jemma reached her and although she looked weak and pale, her heart was slowing down as she lay half seated against the pod's wall. 

"I'm sorry Jemma," she said. "I tried to hold on but it was just—"

"You did everything right, Daisy. It's not you. Maybe we did a wrong calculation or maybe it has something to do with the other dimension…"

"I'll try again," Daisy said, her voice still breathless and weak but her expression fierce. "As many times as it takes to bring him back."

"I know. But—"

"For now, you need to rest," Coulson cut her off before turning to Jemma. "I'm sorry Jemma. We'll try again when Daisy can but maybe it's time to start looking for other options."

"I just…I don't understand. It should have worked, I…"

"Daisy, are you alright?" 

Jemma's heart skipped a beat as her brain registered the voice and accent she'd just heard. She would have thought she'd imagined it if it wasn't for Daisy's wide eyes. Jemma turned around and there he was, standing just outside the pod, looking exactly the same as the previous night and somehow also completely different. His eyes widened comically as he seemed to realize Jemma was looking at him and not through him for once. 

"Jemma?" he asked, voice a little shaky. "Can you really see—"

His words were cut off as she threw herself at him, a sob of relief and happiness escaping her as she found him so wonderfully solid against her. Something between a laughter and sob came out of his mouth as well as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. 

"Fitz, where have you been?" she mumbled against the skin of his neck. She tried to pull back to look at him but he was holding on too tightly, like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go. Which was completely understandable of course. And honestly, she wasn't planning on letting him out of her sight anytime soon.

"It was a mess. I think the passage opens to other dimensions. So I kind of flew away, ended up on another level of the base, came back and then I saw the passage again. It had extended outside of the hangar, it was impressive. So I took it but then I was outside and of course, my badge didn't work anymore and the guards didn't know me, thought I was trying to invade the base on my own or something. Idiots! So I really thought I was going to get thrown out of the base when—mmmph!"

Jemma didn't even need to look up to know it was Hunter who'd just crashed against Fitz, hugging him and Jemma so tight it brought tears to her eyes. 

"I missed you, mate," he said, just loud enough for only them to hear. 

"Me too, Hunter, just maybe let me br—ow!"

With Bobbi on one side and Mack on the other, Jemma and Fitz soon found themselves surrounded and a little bit suffocated. But she could feel so much love and relief directed at Fitz that she had no doubt Fitz loved it despite his slight grunts of protest. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it felt like to feel so much after being deprived of it for a whole year. 

"We _all_ missed you," Bobbi said in a slightly teasing tone that had Hunter huffing. They were a funny kind of couple those two but somehow they seemed to function. 

"Hey, I feel a little left out here."

Daisy sounded better already and they all laughed as they disentangled themselves. Fitz kept Jemma in his arms a second longer then gave her a heart-meltingly soft smile before turning to Daisy. He kneeled next to her and gave her an awkward sort of hug that had her laughing.

"You're really back, aren't you?" 

"Yeah. And look at you. I'm gone for a year and now you're a superhero." 

"Well, I had to keep myself busy while you were gone." 

Fitz laughed before hugging her again. "Thank you Daisy…so much." 

"We have a lot of catching up to do but first… I think I'm going to sleep for a week." 

"Yeah, there's going to be a very long debriefing, guys." 

Fitz looked up and grinned. Coulson was trying to remain cool and composed as always, he was the boss after all, but the moment Fitz stood up, he took a step forward and gave him a hug. 

"Welcome back, Fitz." 

"Thank you, sir but do you think, um…"

"Debriefing can wait. Take the day off and enjoy being, you know, tangible."

Fitz nodded and from the slight pink on his cheeks, Jemma was pretty sure he had the same idea she had about how he could enjoy being tangible. That must have distracted him because he squeaked as he bumped into May when he turned around. 

"It's good to see you, Fitz," she said with the biggest smile Jemma had ever seen on her face.

"It's good to see you too. I mean I could see you all this time. It's more that it's nice that you can see me and, um…" He trailed off and May shook her head in amusement. She must have been used to his rambling. "Anyway, it's nice and also… Thanks for the tai chi and for almost hearing me." 

"What? Do you mean I really—" 

"Yeah." 

She looked pensive for a moment —or maybe even upset, Jemma couldn't be sure— before shaking her head and smiling again. "You're welcome whenever you want to join me." 

"So," Jemma said as she took a few steps towards him. She'd been patient as Fitz had a moment with his friends. It was only normal since they'd known him much longer, but after working night and day to get him back, he was finally here for real and she was itching to be close to him and touch him and tell him all the things she wanted to tell him. "What do you want to start with? I'm afraid you'll have to stay at the base until we make sure you're perfectly healthy but…" She took another step closer and lowered her voice. "There's plenty of things to do here until you can go out."

Fitz lit up at her words but apparently, they were not exactly on the same page at the moment.

"Actually, I'd kill for a shower and, oh, one of those nice sandwiches. Do you have all the ingredients to make them for real? Oh and nap too! I know it's weird but I didn't know I could miss sleeping so much, I—"

His words were cut short by her lips on his. He deserved all these things and the fact that he could get excited by such trivial things was sweet and a little heartbreaking because it reminded her of how much he'd missed, but she'd been thinking about this from the moment she realized that he was actually real and she couldn't wait a moment longer. Fitz got on the same page rather quickly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as her body arched into him and they deepened the kiss. Lust coursed through her as Fitz let out a little groan in the back of his throat. They might have done this countless times in dreams and it definitely felt familiar but he still kissed her with that same hunger that had taken her by surprise the first time and it was even more wonderful. She thought it had felt real before and it had but this was on another level entirely. Which meant that other things… She shifted her hips, hopefully imperceptibly, against his before being reminded they weren't alone by Hunter's wolf whistles and Daisy's "hey, hey, hey". 

"Well that too," Fitz said as they broke the kiss, his face a bright red but his smile threatening to split his face in two.

"Told you I wouldn't hesitate the moment you were tangible." Fitz laughed as he cupped her cheek tenderly. "Also, I love you. I should have told you sooner but—"

"I love you too."

Jemma was about to dive in for another kiss when Coulson loudly cleared his throat.

"Sorry," they both said in unison and Coulson raised an amused eyebrow. It was only now that Jemma remembered the existence of section 17, but given how Bobbi and Hunter didn't make a secret of their relationship, she figured they should be alright. Plus, she had a feeling Fitz would get a lot of free passes on the account of having been a ghost for over a year.

"Well everyone, go back to work, lots of paperwork and samples to analyze. Daisy, go to the infirmary and get some rest and you two," he said, lowering his voice as he turned back towards them. "Just…take a day off."

Jemma couldn't help grinning at the prospect, waiting for everyone to leave the room before reaching for Fitz's hand. Hunter beat her to it though as he wrapped his arm around Fitz's shoulder. 

"Well Fitz, we have a lot to catch up on, and I mean a loooot," Hunter said. "Like really, never seen you being interested in anyone all the time I knew you and you manage to—"

"Hunter!" May snapped. "Mission briefing in five minutes, you better be ready." 

Sighing, Hunter gave them a knowing smile before letting go of Fitz and running towards the doors. May just turned around, gave them a small crooked smile and took her time following after Hunter. Finally able to take Fitz's hand, Jemma led him away from the pod to let everyone else clean up and bring all the equipment back to the lab or put it into storage. Normally, she would supervise it all but Coulson had given her the day off and she was going to take full advantage of it.

"So how about you go to my bunk," Jemma said, not able to hide her happy grin as she pulled him to the side. "Start on that shower and I'll join you in a minute."

"What about the other things?"

"Don't worry about those. You will definitely need a nap and a sandwich when I'm done with you."

Fitz's eyes widened as a touch of pink found its way back onto his face.

"That sounds very efficient," he finally said, voice deliciously low.

"Always."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not quite the end yet, there's a short epilogue that I will be posting right after this one :)


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the epilogue so make sure you also read chapter six that I just posted a minute ago :)   
> Thanks so much to everyone who read this story, left kudos and comments and were patient enough to wait for the last few chapters and hope you enjoy this last one <3

"Hey."

Fitz took a moment to realize she was talking to him but when he did and turned around, it was just in time to see her kneel and then lie down next to him on the high grass. He didn't know which would take the most time getting used to. Having people actually see him, hear him and talk to him or having one of these people be Jemma and the way _she_ looked at him. With that softness in her eyes and a smile brighter than the sun. Plus, she had on a blue and white dress that resembled the one she'd been wearing in one of the first dreams they'd shared. He found her beautiful in everything (or anything at all really) but there was something so nice and carefree about wearing a simple dress and sandals that reminded him that they truly were on holiday. Plus, it might be summer but it was still a little too light for Scottish weather and Fitz grinned as she practically purred as she snuggled up to him tightly to try and steal some of his body heat. 

"Did you get stuck looking at more baby pics?" Fitz asked and she chuckled. 

"No but your mum wants you to know dinner will be ready in, well forty five minutes now, and she doesn't want you to grumble if it's cold when you're inevitably late." 

Fitz grinned. He never thought he could miss being treated like a fifteen year-old by his mum but recently, he'd learned to enjoy all the simple things in life, even those he didn't use to enjoy at all. 

"I just had a phone call from Bobbi. I'm afraid she might kill Nathanson before we get back to the base but other than that, she seems to be doing pretty well." 

"Oh well, then maybe we should stay here just a little longer," Fitz said, pressing Jemma tighter against his side as his other hand started tracing patterns on her arm and side, enjoying the way he felt her shiver under his touch. "Let her do the dirty work."

"Fitz, that wouldn't be very nice. I think we've taken advantage of the situation quite a lot already, yeah?" 

They hadn't _taken advantage_ of anything, not per se. But when Coulson insisted that Fitz take all the time off he needed to visit his family and catch up with his life, and agreed to let him bring Jemma along, what was he supposed to do? And he'd told his boss several times that he shouldn't feel guilty about the whole thing. How could they have known what would happen during this mission and who could have possibly imagined that Fitz had been sent to another dimension? Fitz was just happy to be back and be able to touch and speak with people and be seen. He didn't even mind the looks Daisy or Hunter sent his way every time he was around Jemma. He was too happy to see his friends and too in love with Jemma to be grumpy. Most of the time. 

But Fitz was also not above saying how much he'd missed Scotland and fresh air in general to get a few more days off with Jemma.

"We'll go back if there's something urgent…" He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then another on her hairline where her skin was so sensitive and then another, and another until she looked up at him with hooded eyes and her hand moving up his chest. "But let's not think about the lab right now…"

"Yeah?" she asked, voice low and mouth so close he could smell the shortbread she must have nicked from her the kitchen table before joining him. "And what should we think about ins—"

She squeaked when he just licked the sugar off her lips but he didn't give her the time to do anything else as he captured her lips in a heated kiss. She knew him well by now and given her very healthy eating habits, she had to have done it on purpose and he wasn't planning on ever disappointing her. She giggled into the kiss, her hand coming to cradle his cheek as she pressed closer against his side. The curves of her breasts and the feel of her bare leg lightly moving against his sent a zing of lust through him and he deepened the kiss. She always managed to fill his senses completely. Her sweet taste, the scent of lavender in her hair, her soft moans and the feel of her smooth skin under his fingers that always left him craving for more. His hand trailed down her side and hip as they kept kissing like there was no tomorrow. Jemma gasped when he reached the skin of her thigh and dove under the skirt of her dress, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"Fitz," she whispered against his lips. "We can't. People…might…" Fitz palmed her arse and she moaned as her hips shifted against his side. He rolled them around until he was on top of her. She parted her legs to welcome him in the cradle of her hips, her lush lips stuck on a little "o" of pleasure as he moved above her. 

"We have the cover of trees and the house is on the other side of the hill," Fitz said as he nuzzled her neck, grinning as her skin covered in more goosebumps with each of his kisses. "And it was your idea to begin with."

Jemma let out a throaty laugh. 

"But that was back when I thought it was a dream, Fitz." 

"Yes, but dreams tend to come true when we're together." Jemma pushed at his shoulders, forcing him to look down at her. Her eyebrows were up to her hairline and Fitz grimaced. "Too cheesy?" 

She grinned. 

"Yes! But also true." She cradled his cheek tenderly. "Now make love to me and make one more dream come true." 

Being with Jemma had given Fitz all kinds of new dreams about the future that he hoped would come to be a reality. But he'd also learned not to be impatient and enjoy every good moment life sent his way. So he would keep taking these dreams one at a time, knowing it would always be worth it as long as they were together.


End file.
